Article: Hamilton Mustn't Let Heart Rule Head Like Fisi's Did | Formula One

[Stephen Lickorish]

Lewis Hamilton's heart's instinct is to pass anyone in front of him at the first opportunity. But as this option has been very unsuccessful for him in 2011, perhaps it’s time he changed this…

It’s now two years ago since Giancarlo Fisichella let heart rule over head- with devastating consequences. As an Italian it was always his dream to drive the Prancing Horse at its spiritual home: Monza. When this opportunity arose in 2009 following the disappointing performances of Luca Badoer when replacing Felipe Massa, Fisichella jumped at the chance to drive for Ferrari for the Italian GP.

Yes Fisichella lived his dream, but there was no fairytale ending. He too struggled terribly with the car, and failed to score a single point. His F1 career was over thanks to one moment of eagerness.

If he had listened to his head and not taken the drive, he may still be in F1 today. Instead, when Massa returned last year, Fisichella was relegated to test driver. Now he’s not even that, with Ferrari instead opting for rising talent Jules Bianchi. His F1 career ended on a disappointing note, just as he seemed to be resurrecting it.

Now, Lewis Hamilton’s heart over head decisions were nowhere near the scale of Fisichella’s-they may just have prevented him having a shot at this year’s title. But the point remains. If Hamilton doesn’t want his career to end in the same miserable fashion as Fisichella’s, perhaps it’s time he started listening to his head instead of his heart. Otherwise his full potential may never be revealed.

 

[TomTom94]

To be honest, with the exception of his drive to second at Spa, Fisi never really set the F1 world alight, and I doubt he's exactly underwhelmingly renumerated for his test/reserve driver efforts.

I entirely fail to see the connection between one driver's team choice and another driver's on-track antics, but I can agree with the sentiment - Hamilton's aggressive nature has let him down often in the past.

 

[lazylucas]

or maybe he isnt as good as his fan base like to think he is. ive been watching f1 for years and since hamilton came inot the sport has has always been reckless/prone to incidents he could of avoided. this is just the way he drives, i doubt he would of won his title driving differently.

you cant have the best of both worlds, lots of overtakes and speed yet not many mistakes. they go hand in hand the more you have of one, the more of the other.

hamilton one of the most aggressive drivers in f1 = also one involved in the most incidents
button not nearly as aggressive and makes less mistakes

people go on about vettel overtaking ability yet he has finished every race this season

 

[Nazara]

fisi had two years driving in the best car and he blew it
he wasnt anything special

 

[allsaintchris.]

The worst ever case of a driver following his heart and not his head was when Jean Alesi turned down a Williams-Renault drive for a Ferrari one at the end of 1990.

Good chance he could have been WDC in any of the 1992 - 1997 Williams'.

Instead he got just 1 (lucky) victory in 1995 to show for all his talent.

 

[Stephen Lickorish]

what are you trying to say?

That if Hamilton wants to do well he needs to make the right decisions, unlike Fisichella when he moved to Ferrari. Basically!

 

[Nazara]

That if Hamilton wants to do well he needs to make the right decisions, unlike Fisichella when he moved to Ferrari. Basically!

fisi wasnt a good enough driver
he was always outpaced by alonso
while alonso won championships in 2005 and 2006 he placed 5th and 4th in those same years in the same car

 

[allsaintchris.]

fisi wasnt a good enough driver
he was always outpaced by alonso
while alosno won championships in 2005 and 2006 he placed 5th and 4th in those same years

He showwd occasional flashes of speed, but was always too inconsistent to do well over a season. Typical Italian driver!

 

[Forza Bianchi]

fisi had two years driving in the best car and he blew it
he wasnt anything special

fisi wasnt a good enough driver
he was always outpaced by alonso
while alonso won championships in 2005 and 2006 he placed 5th and 4th in those same years in the same car

Fisi was highly regarded until Alonso became his teammate - same with Trulli and Massa. I think Fisichella had done enough by 2004 to deserve a competitive car. When he got his chance, Alonso was too good for him.

 

[Nazara]

Fisi was highly regarded until Alonso became his teammate - same with Trulli and Massa. I think Fisichella had done enough by 2004 to deserve a competitive car. When he got his chance, Alonso was too good for him.

fisichella was overated
he only did well in average/poor cars
in 2007 he was outpaced by a rookie by the name of heikki kovalainen when he was meant to be the number 1 driver

 

[Masanari]

Hamilton's problem is his terrible judgement, it is possible to be aggressive and overtake a lot without crashing if you just show good judgement like Alonso, Button and Webber have done this season.

 

[Forza Bianchi]

Now, Lewis Hamilton’s heart over head decisions were nowhere near the scale of Fisichella’s-they may just have prevented him having a shot at this year’s title. But the point remains. If Hamilton doesn’t want his career to end in the same miserable fashion as Fisichella’s, perhaps it’s time he started listening to his head instead of his heart. Otherwise his full potential may never be revealed.

I believe that in Hamilton's mind, he is the best driver on the grid and he likes to think he is as good as Senna. In reality, he is nowhere near Senna in terms of driving ability and the current grid is very competitive.

Hamilton is too aggressive and he's not learning from his mistakes. I think if Hamilton continues to drive like this, there's a possibility that Hamilton might not win another Championship.

 

[Kyle?]

I believe that in Hamilton's mind, he is the best driver on the grid and he likes to think he is as good as Senna. In reality, he is nowhere near Senna in terms of driving ability and the current grid is very competitive.

Hamilton is too aggressive and he's not learning from his mistakes. I think if Hamilton continues to drive like this, there's a possibility that Hamilton might not win another Championship.

It would be a brave man who bets against him winning another title. Fernando won't be there to stop him forever, and Adrian Newey does occasionally make a bad car.

 

[SgtBhaji]

He has to get his head back in the game and not pull a Kimi by becoming consistently hit and miss.

When he's in form he's top drawer and in my opinion, a bloody exciting driver to watch. Maybe Jenson's performamces will give him the kick up the arse that he needs.

 

[Bob Bobbinz]

A good car from day 1 of the season would be a start, it would reduce the pressure on both the drivers immensely. I believe most of Hamiltons mistakes this and last season are due to feeling like he has to make up for a poor performing car.

However, you also need to weigh up wether or not he'd have more points by now if he just settled for a few safe overtakes but lower finishing positions? With only 2 DNFs this season I think it's a pretty tough one to call in that respect.

 

[happyal]

Fisi was at the end of his driving career, and he got the chance to finish his career driving a Ferrari, something which most Italian drivers would want to do. At the time the Ferrari was an aweful car, and very hard to drive. He was never going to do much with it, and I think he knew that.

I still think he did the right thing, as he will forever be able to say he was a Ferrari F1 driver, If that doesn't mean anything to you, that's fine, but it would mean alot to many people.

Hamilton is still young, and he still has many chances at the world championship left. I think he'll win another one or two at least. He does need to settle down, get a real F1 manager and stop all this bling, bling lefestyle rubbish, but it's his choice and if he wants to be a star rather than a F1 world champion, there's nothing we can do.