The path that Lewis has taken to the pinnacle of motorsport will surely have left it's mark on him and his mental "health". I mean, we all go through our own adolescence and continue to grow as we are influenced by various factors from within or without. Imagine trying to do that whilst also being pushed, not unwillingly, to be the the fastest most competitive driver in whichever class of motorsport you are intended to dominate. The whole of world dedication and devotion required to achieve what he has achieved leaves little mental or physical effort for "life".
Such a single mindedness will surely leave a deep mark on a person. We see that Nico Rosberg, having achieved the pinnacle of the sport and realise he didn't want to go through that again, promptly retired to live the high life and produce some insightfull podcasts.
If you might humour me for a moment, it is my contention that Michael Schumacher is alive and well, living in splendid isolation. Having been under the microscope for so long he was happy to find an excuse to withdraw completely.
Seasoned observers of F1 well know that when outside factors throw up challenges, like the slippery and wet Turkey track, then things get changed up a bit. The way that qualifying panned out put young Stroll on pole but at the end of the day Hamilton had taken his usual position.....he and the Mercedes team are simply that good. As for Bottas, we all have days where it just doesn't come together for us, he spun and trying to make up time overcooked it again, and again....he wasn't alone, but only he had a statistical chance of being world champion. He wasn't going to leave anything on the table.
Given how the lack of grip changes things, is it any wonder Bernie always wanted to be able to control sprinklers around the track? Call him what you like, he always had the best interests of entertainment at heart. Of course the more entertaining it was the more people would watch and the more money he made....
Such a single mindedness will surely leave a deep mark on a person. We see that Nico Rosberg, having achieved the pinnacle of the sport and realise he didn't want to go through that again, promptly retired to live the high life and produce some insightfull podcasts.
If you might humour me for a moment, it is my contention that Michael Schumacher is alive and well, living in splendid isolation. Having been under the microscope for so long he was happy to find an excuse to withdraw completely.
Seasoned observers of F1 well know that when outside factors throw up challenges, like the slippery and wet Turkey track, then things get changed up a bit. The way that qualifying panned out put young Stroll on pole but at the end of the day Hamilton had taken his usual position.....he and the Mercedes team are simply that good. As for Bottas, we all have days where it just doesn't come together for us, he spun and trying to make up time overcooked it again, and again....he wasn't alone, but only he had a statistical chance of being world champion. He wasn't going to leave anything on the table.
Given how the lack of grip changes things, is it any wonder Bernie always wanted to be able to control sprinklers around the track? Call him what you like, he always had the best interests of entertainment at heart. Of course the more entertaining it was the more people would watch and the more money he made....
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