Lewis Hamilton has warned he will turn his back on Formula One if he is denied the opportunity to race in his own inimitable style by the stewards.
Hamilton picked up two drive through penalties in Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix for overtaking moves which were deemed to have caused collisions by the FIA law enforcers.
It prompted a no holds barred attack from the McLaren driver who claimed to have been singled out for special treatment this season, although he later tried to explain away a joke out the colour of his skin which appeared to imply such treatment was racially motivated
After regaining his composure, Hamilton was still not prepared to concede he was in the wrong and insisted should he have to ease off to appease stewards and aggrieved fellow drivers then he will find something else to do.
He said: ‘In all honesty I will never stop racing the way I do. It’s the way I do it. That’s what got me here, it is the way I am. I don’t do it to offend people or to hurt anyone. I do it because I love racing. I feel like I can do it better than others.
‘I am here to race and win. If I have to lose that passion it would blow all the racing. If it ever comes to a stage where I had to pull back, drive for fourth or fifth place and just cruise around it would not excite me and I probably wouldn’t stay around for that.’
In the week where a superb documentary film about the Formula One career of Ayrton Senna is released in the United Kingdom, Hamilton’s words bear a striking resemblance to an interview the Brazilian maestro gives to fellow motor racing superstar, Sir Jackie Stewart, which features in the movie.
Speaking in 1990 after he had ploughed into Alain Prost at the first corner at Suzuka to claim his second world title, Stewart asks Senna to explain why he has so many collisions.
An indignant and unrepentant Senna replies: ‘I find amazing for you to make such a question Stewart because you are very experienced and you know a lot about racing.
‘Being a racing driver means you are racing with other people and if you no longer go for a gap that exists then you are no longer a racing driver.
‘Because we are competing, we are competing to win and the main motivation for all of us is to compete for a victory. It is not to come third fourth, fifth or sixth.’
With Stewart having been bold enough to put Senna on the spot and with a trio of Monaco victories to his name, the three-time world champion would seem an ideal candidate to assess Hamilton’s performance at the weekend.
‘Monte Carlo is the kind of place where you try to give your car little Valium and yourself a little more than the car,’ said Stewart speaking to Sportsmail on Monday. ‘Pushing and shoving usually brings tears.
‘He (Hamilton) did run into some very controversial manoeuvres whereas Jenson Button passed Fernando Alonso in a very clean and decisive way. It took him quite a few laps to achieve that, but patience paid off.
‘I thought the last manoeuvre by Hamilton (on Maldonado) was overly aggressive and he was very lucky to get out of that one without any damage. I think the stewards could have been much more severe than they were, and that is not a criticism of the stewards.’
As for the losses of cool in and out of the car, Stewart had this to say: ‘It comes down to mind management. He (Hamilton) has got to be more mindful of how he allows his emotions to run into statements that he might later regret.
‘Emotions can be very dangerous and if you allow them to get the better of you then you can say things that later you wish you may never have said. He has got to be careful of that, not only to the administrators but also to his colleagues on the track because they can react as well.
I like Lewis a lot and he is not having his best season so far. But we have all had bad seasons, what can we do? You have just got to have patience, work it out and ensure that, going forward, you are better prepared for next year.’
It is no surprise that Hamilton’s words so closely mirror those of Senna in the interview with Stewart, after all his McLaren ancestor is his idol.
Hamilton’s burning desire to add to his solitary Monaco victory is also easy to fathom given that Senna managed six wins on the street circuit – more than any other driver in Formula one history.
‘The passion is just even greater than elsewhere,’ said Hamilton searching for reasons to explain a display which, in the eyes of the stewards, had crossed the line. ‘In my heart of hearts I believe I can own this circuit. I feel like I can be the fastest here. I was, and not with the fastest car.’
Neither was Senna in the fastest car when, on his first visit to Monaco, his barnstorming drive in the wet in an uncompetitive Toleman bringing him to world attention.
Indeed, watching the documentary, the similarities between Senna and Hamilton come thick and fast. For example, for Senna versus Prost read Hamilton versus Fernando Alonso.
Then there is a more worrying likeness, namely that Hamilton is beginning to sound like Senna when it comes to complaints of victimisation by the sport’s power brokers.
The film was shown to the great and the good in Monaco ahead of the race, its tragic finale bringing plenty of tears. It seems that 17 years after his death, Senna’s daredevil overtaking moves and fearless approach to the sport are seen as something which sets him apart, something to be lauded.
However, it must be remembered that while he was racing, Senna received just as much criticism for his uncompromising driving style as Hamilton is currently having to endure. All of which begs the question are Hamilton’s daredevil displays simply far too gung-ho or are they manna from heaven for the sport.
Stewards, certain fellow drivers, some former stars and plenty of Formula One fans have made their feelings clear, the 2008 world champion crosses the line too often. If Senna were alive today, he would doubtless be urging Hamilton not to change a thing.
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