andrew wrote:I think that some of the modern breed of F1 drivers are nothing more than spoilt brats, particularly when they have had everything gifted on a silver platter. When you look at the drivers that have had to work hard and make severe sacrifices (along with their families) they are a lot more rounded and mature, and seem to take defeat as one of those things.
Well, Nigel Mansell is probably the epitome of the latter type of driver (he sold everything to keep racing). I can't think of a less rounded individual (other than his waistline!) less likely to "take defeat as one of those things". He was a moaning, petulant, whinging git. Probably the best balls-out racer of his generation though!
Most F1 drivers these days are where they are because someone has bankrolled them from an early age. There's a lot of talent driving around in "lower" formulae that will never make the big time because they have no decent funding. Lots of people have arrived in F1 and shone like a broken lamp - there only because someone stumped up a load of cash to buy them a seat.
Guys who have spent their lives working towards the goal of being World Champion do not sit there and smile sweetly when things have gone wrong. They're annoyed and they sulk and they take that energy and turn it in to performance. If they don't then they'll never be champions.
The list of guys who have pouted and sulked after bad races is long and it's full of world champions. Piquet, Senna, Prost, Mansell, Schumacher, Hill, Villeneuve, Alonso, Hamilton, Button - have all been notably grumpy after bad races. All of them, bar Mansell I think, have had someone behind them to get where they were, even if it was just a family member with some spare cash. Indeed, Hamilton's dad supported him by doing multiple jobs at various times - it wasn't all Ron's money that paved the road with gold as Hamilton didn't join the McLaren programme until he was 12 or 13 years old - he'd been racing for several years by then:
His father told him that he would support his racing career as long as he worked hard at school. Supporting his son became problematic, which caused him to take redundancy from his position as an IT Manager and became a contractor. He was sometimes employed in up to three jobs at a time, while still managing to find enough time to attend all Hamilton's races. (from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Hamilton)
I know lots of people - you included I think - dislike Hamilton because he arrived on the back of McLaren support (so a double whammy in many eyes). But when he arrived he actually delivered. He went toe to toe with the defending double champion and came away with the results. Then he went and won the title in only his second season. That's not the result of rich backing, it's the result of talent honed to a fine skill by long years of practise and training. Sure, the money helps (see my second para above), but on its own it's not enough.
And let's not forget - he got McLaren backing in part because, at an awards ceremony for something he'd already achieved, he went up to Ron Dennis and told him that he would be driving for him someday! I think he was about 10 years old at the time. That's the sort of internal drive and belief (arrogance if you will) that wins titles and leads to guys in victory-capable cars getting arsey when things go wrong.
If you are more fortunate than others, build a larger table not a taller fence.
In a quirk of timing, Webber's just made Hamilton comparatively sound like a choir boy!
