Having seen what Hamilton has to offer McLaren, in my opinion the team should release Hamilton and bring in someone else immediately or if that's not feasible, let him go when his current contract ends next year.
Hamilton has become a liability. His many crashes and general driving inconsistencies have caused McLaren problems and cost the team a lot of points. He now has the record for most penalties in a season. If the stewards are investigating an incident, Hamilton is often involved and outbursts like the one in Monaco don't help. If he can't see that he's at fault, how does one expect him to improve? It makes you wonder how much longer McLaren are able to rely on Hamilton. Even his good strong performances appear to be less frequent now, so what can he offer to McLaren that makes up for all his deficiencies?
To add to Hamilton's bad points - without the ultra-conservative Bridgestone tyre hiding Hamilton's inability to manage his tyres, Hamilton has stuggled. I can't see Hamilton being very successful in the Pirelli era. Though he's has overtaking skills, his record of crashes make his 'great overtaker' reputation tainted. Let's not forget the always lingering thought that Hamilton will make mistakes when the pressure is on. That arguably cost him two titles and almost stopped him winning in 2008.
Before 2009, Button to me looked like a journeyman - never looked deserving of a top car, like Webber - it just happened that he was in the right place at the right time. I know Button has improved a lot since his playboy racer days but recently so have others, including Vettel and Alonso. The fact that Button is now beating Hamilton tells me that Hamilton's repuatation for outright speed is more hype than fact. This isn't a dig at Button - he deserves credit for his recent improvement and I currently regard him as best of the rest behind Alonso and Vettel, which leads me to my next point.
Vettel and Alonso have proved on several occasions this year that they are the best out there, which ultimately means that they are better than Hamilton. Many races this year the MP4-26 has been very close or equal or sometimes better than Red Bull. Even a few qualifying sessions they've been quickest. In spite of this, Hamilton continues to get outdone by Vettel (even when Hamilton seems to be "old Lewis"). Throughout the season McLaren have had a better car than Ferrari, and Alonso has outdriven Hamilton, which reflected in the WDC standings and the fact that Hamilton has finished ahead of Alonso only six times this year - three of those were in the first five races (where Ferrari had significantly less downforce than McLaren). Vettel and Alonso have proven themselves to be quicker and more complete than Hamilton. As a result Hamilton is going to find it very difficult to have major success in the future with these two in top teams on the grid.
I've said before that Hamilton won't win another Championship in his F1 career and I stand by that comment. I see his "personal problems" and need for a "happy bubble" as an excuse for Button beating him and Vettel and Alonso humiliating him. Most people (myself included) had high expectations for his future at the end of 2007, but four years later and his rookie year remains his best season to date. He hasn't made the expected improvement after 2007 and he's arguably in decline - therefore I find it hard to see why McLaren should retain Hamilton's services any longer.
The way I see it, Mclaren have the experienced team leader in Jenson Button and without Hamilon, Button's chances in the WDC are maximised and as long as the other driver is decent enough, they shouldn't have much to worry about in the WCC either. Guys like Rosberg or Sutil would be a good replacement but my personal choice would be Heikki Kovalainen. Ignoring the drivers in the three top teams, the standout performer of 2011 is Kovalainen. He was out of his depth in his previous McLaren stint but he's improved a lot since then and I honestly think if he went back to Mclaren, he would acheive very respectable results. I imagine he'd be a lot cheaper than Hamilton as well.
I don't expect many to agree with me, but there's my opinion. Your thoughts?
Hamilton has become a liability. His many crashes and general driving inconsistencies have caused McLaren problems and cost the team a lot of points. He now has the record for most penalties in a season. If the stewards are investigating an incident, Hamilton is often involved and outbursts like the one in Monaco don't help. If he can't see that he's at fault, how does one expect him to improve? It makes you wonder how much longer McLaren are able to rely on Hamilton. Even his good strong performances appear to be less frequent now, so what can he offer to McLaren that makes up for all his deficiencies?
To add to Hamilton's bad points - without the ultra-conservative Bridgestone tyre hiding Hamilton's inability to manage his tyres, Hamilton has stuggled. I can't see Hamilton being very successful in the Pirelli era. Though he's has overtaking skills, his record of crashes make his 'great overtaker' reputation tainted. Let's not forget the always lingering thought that Hamilton will make mistakes when the pressure is on. That arguably cost him two titles and almost stopped him winning in 2008.
Before 2009, Button to me looked like a journeyman - never looked deserving of a top car, like Webber - it just happened that he was in the right place at the right time. I know Button has improved a lot since his playboy racer days but recently so have others, including Vettel and Alonso. The fact that Button is now beating Hamilton tells me that Hamilton's repuatation for outright speed is more hype than fact. This isn't a dig at Button - he deserves credit for his recent improvement and I currently regard him as best of the rest behind Alonso and Vettel, which leads me to my next point.
Vettel and Alonso have proved on several occasions this year that they are the best out there, which ultimately means that they are better than Hamilton. Many races this year the MP4-26 has been very close or equal or sometimes better than Red Bull. Even a few qualifying sessions they've been quickest. In spite of this, Hamilton continues to get outdone by Vettel (even when Hamilton seems to be "old Lewis"). Throughout the season McLaren have had a better car than Ferrari, and Alonso has outdriven Hamilton, which reflected in the WDC standings and the fact that Hamilton has finished ahead of Alonso only six times this year - three of those were in the first five races (where Ferrari had significantly less downforce than McLaren). Vettel and Alonso have proven themselves to be quicker and more complete than Hamilton. As a result Hamilton is going to find it very difficult to have major success in the future with these two in top teams on the grid.
I've said before that Hamilton won't win another Championship in his F1 career and I stand by that comment. I see his "personal problems" and need for a "happy bubble" as an excuse for Button beating him and Vettel and Alonso humiliating him. Most people (myself included) had high expectations for his future at the end of 2007, but four years later and his rookie year remains his best season to date. He hasn't made the expected improvement after 2007 and he's arguably in decline - therefore I find it hard to see why McLaren should retain Hamilton's services any longer.
The way I see it, Mclaren have the experienced team leader in Jenson Button and without Hamilon, Button's chances in the WDC are maximised and as long as the other driver is decent enough, they shouldn't have much to worry about in the WCC either. Guys like Rosberg or Sutil would be a good replacement but my personal choice would be Heikki Kovalainen. Ignoring the drivers in the three top teams, the standout performer of 2011 is Kovalainen. He was out of his depth in his previous McLaren stint but he's improved a lot since then and I honestly think if he went back to Mclaren, he would acheive very respectable results. I imagine he'd be a lot cheaper than Hamilton as well.
I don't expect many to agree with me, but there's my opinion. Your thoughts?
