Lewis Hamilton - the Biography by Frank Worall

Lewis Hamilton - the Biography by Frank Worall

Author:Frank Worall [Frank Worrall]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Sports, Sports & Recreation, Motor Sports
ISBN: 1784185981
Google: U7wRBwAAQBAJ
Amazon: B00U58XMJS
Goodreads: 25149944
Publisher: John Blake
Published: 2015-03-05T00:00:00+00:00


CHAPTER 11

CANADA HIGH

It was make or break as Lewis Hamilton arrived in Canada for the sixth grand prix of what was becoming a thrilling Formula One season. A fortnight on from Monte Carlo and his dismay at being brought to heel by McLaren as he contemplated taking on Alonso, the boy dubbed ‘the Stevenage Rocket’ in the pit lane now had to put up or shut up.

Although his clear annoyance at being made to play second fiddle to the Spaniard resulted in a FIA inquiry into Ron Dennis’ tactics as previously noted, it also created a situation where he would now no longer be expected to handle the car for McLaren’s tactical advantage. That was the unexpected bonus of Monaco, but in another sense it put him in an unenviable position. Now, there could be no excuses if Alonso beat him; they were both in the same car and so it would be down to driver quality. Also, there were mutterings from the Alonso camp that maybe he was getting too big for his boots – what had he actually done to warrant equal billing? How many races had he won?

In some quarters, he was labelled with another nickname: the bridesmaid. Second best, never the No. 1. By 10 June in Montreal and for the first time in his short F1 career, the pressure was truly on for him. But his magnificent, and now typical, response was to turn up on the Thursday to ‘bed himself in’. There, he met and greeted both press and fans as though he was about to take a gentle stroll in the park rather than hurtle round a circuit at death-defying speeds of up to 203mph in front of a crowd pushing 105,000 on 70 punishing laps. And, at the end of it all on the Sunday afternoon, he was to stand on the podium once again; for the sixth consecutive time, but this time would be the first as the winner. The ‘bridesmaid’ had eventually reached the altar. For Lewis Hamilton, genius rookie driver, it was the end of a long hard road: he was the No. 1 driver in the world that day, no question about it.

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, named after the late, great Ferrari star, is one most of the Formula One drivers can take or leave. No great test, it is, however, a favourite with the fans – its combination of straights and slow corners making for fast, furious, action-packed racing.

Lewis also arrived in Montreal with yet more criticism of his style ringing in his ears. But whereas prior to Monaco Eddie Jordan had knocked him for not being sufficiently aggressive, another ‘name’ from the past – former World Champion Jacques Villeneuve – now accused him of being… not aggressive enough! It just went to show how unreliable some of the pundits were.

For Lewis Hamilton was becoming big business. Merely being associated with his name could bring benefits aplenty. Jordan talked about Lewis at the launch of his autobiography, which helped to gain vital column inches of publicity in the following days’ newspapers.



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