If you want to indulge in the “Tiger Woods Syndrome” then you should follow Lewis Hamilton at his weekend’s Formula 1 US Grand Prix.
Hamilton, an articulate, manicured, well groomed rookie has taken Motor Racing by storm this year. He has been on the podium of all six races of the F1 Championship to date, gaining his first win last weekend in Canada on a circuit he had never driven before.
At 22 years of age he is clearly an outstanding talent and a potential legend.
Watch qulifying on Speed Channel saturday (2.00PM Eastern) and the race on Fox the following day.
Taking nothing from Schumi or even Kimi, I have to say that the only other F1 rookie — not the same, of course, as a complete open-wheel road-racing newbie — who’s come even close to showing the same kind of magic as Lewis was Juan Pablo Montoya. I saw him drive at Sears Point about ten years ago in a Barber Dodge, and even with 40 other cars on the track you could tell he was something special. He never clicked with the F1 culture, but Bernie’s loss is Nascar’s gain. And what Lewis did in Canada last week was astonishing, given that the Villeneuve circuit probably holds the record for consistently breaking veteran drivers’ legs. Kubica was damned lucky to get off as lightly as he did...