By Peter M. DeLorenzo
Detroit. Lewis Hamilton became World Champion for the fourth time in Mexico City last Sunday. Not his preferred way of closing out his fourth title - he came together with chief rival, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel on the first lap, finishing ninth - but it was enough, and now he's the most successful Grand Prix driver from Great Britain in history. And that's a remarkable feat in and of itself, considering the all-time greats from his country who came before him, including Jackie Stewart with three World Championships, Jim Clark with two and Graham Hill with two. Besides his four World Championships, Hamilton has 62 Grand Prix victories, and his 72 pole positions are the most, all-time.
Hamilton's story is remarkable. Not gifted with the best of financial circumstances to put it mildly, Hamilton's father supported his early racing endeavors, sacrificing everything to see that Lewis had every opportunity to succeed. And then the story about Lewis being discovered and encouraged by Ron Dennis, at McLaren, is almost out of a storybook. From an early age Lewis's dream was to be a Grand Prix driver and race in Formula One. And he never wavered from that dream, demonstrating a relentless desire and retaining a singular focus to be the best of the best.
And unless you've been over in England and have seen it for yourself, it's hard to convey how important racing is. Beyond being a key industry in the country's economy, racing itself is a noble calling and respected profession. There is a distinct difference between the U.S. and Great Britain in that regard. Here in the U.S., there are regional "pockets of respectability" for racing, like Charlotte and Indianapolis. In Great Britain, however, racing occupies a hallowed position in the country's fabric, and the fact that Lewis Hamilton is now the most successful British Grand Prix driver of all time, well, to say it's a very big deal is a gross understatement.
Racing in Formula One is everything to Lewis, it's all he ever wanted, and now he has reached the pinnacle of the sport, being one of five drivers, along with Schumacher, Fangio, Prost and Vettel, who have won four or more World Championships. This is what he had to say after clinching his fourth championship: "Wow. I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who came out to see us," said Hamilton. "The Mexican fans I think are the best around the world. I did everything I could. I had a good start and I don't really know what happened at turn three but I gave him plenty of room, but I tried my hardest to come back." "A big thank you to my family and my team," Hamilton continued. "Mercedes have been incredible over the last five years and I am so proud to be a part of it." He concluded, "I never gave up. It was not the [type of] race I wanted. I kept going right to the end. I just want to lift it up to my family, and god and my team."
Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton and his family and team. He's the quintessential definition of a racer's racer.
And that's the High-Octane Truth for this week.
(Getty Images/BBC)
With four World Championships, Lewis Hamilton is now Great Britain's most successful Grand Prix driver.
Editor's Note: Many of you have seen Peter's references over the years to the Hydrogen Electric Racing Federation (HERF), which he launched in 2007. For those of you who weren't following AE at the time, you can read two of HERF's press releases here and here. And for even more details (including a link to Peter's announcement speech), check out the HERF entry on Wikipedia here. -WG
Publisher's Note: As part of our continuing series celebrating the "Glory Days" of racing, this week's image is from the Ford Racing Archives. - PMD
(Courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Three of Great Britain's all-time greats: Jim Clark and Graham Hill; and Jackie Stewart and Jim Clark at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
