COOPER: 2011 Hamilton's Year Of Growth

Formula 1

COOPER: 2011 Hamilton’s Year Of Growth

A better question perhaps is will we see the real Lewis Hamilton this year...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted January 16, 2012 Balen (BEL)

Lewis Hamilton (Right) chats with teammate Jenson Button (Left) in the paddock last season. (Photo: Getty Images)

Lewis Hamilton attempted to reach a wider audience in the USA with his now famous recent GQ photo shoot, although it seems to have backfired a little.

Some people seemed not to like either his poses or choice of clothing, which seemed to miss the point, given that it was a fashion shoot and not a random selection from his own wardrobe. Lewis would have been pushed and pulled by the photographer, stylist, make-up person etc, and the end result would have been out of his hands.

But all publicity is good publicity, and it won’t have done him any harm to get more attention in the USA. He’s also spent much of this winter in Colorado as part of his training regime. We know he loves the States from the time he’s spent in LA, and it will be interesting to see what sort of support he gets in Austin in November. He’s a much bigger name than he was when he won on his only previous US GP outing at Indianapolis in 2007, his rookie season.

The other big unknown is what his situation will be come November. Of course none of us can guess as to whether he will be a World Championship contender, given that we have yet to see the McLaren MP4-27 or any other 2012 cars.

A better question perhaps is will we see the real Lewis Hamilton this year? And regardless of the pace of his car, will he be at the top of his game – and on top of Jenson Button? The bottom line is that the answers are in Hamilton’s hands, or perhaps more accurately, his head.

There’s no question that 2011 was a disappointing season for Lewis, who unexpectedly found himself edged into shade by Button. Both men won three races, and Hamilton earned a pole when his team mate didn’t, but those bare statistics ignore those many races where Jenson brought home a healthy helping of points with a second or a third, and Lewis endured a frustrating afternoon.

Towards the end of last year he was getting increasingly philosophical as he mulled over his troubles with the media. To his credit, he didn’t try to ignore the problems, and tried to see the positives.

Lewis Hamilton had a tumultuous 2011 season at McLaren. (Photo: Getty Images)

“This season has been a year of growth,” he pondered at one race. “I was talking to a friend just recently who is very, very wise. I said that it’s been a very difficult year. He said it’s not been a difficult year,
it’s been a year of growth, which I think was one of the most positive things I’ve learned this year.

“I’ve learned a lot this year which I can take into next year. So I feel positive about it, and I think in the future I’ll look back on this season and smile and say ‘I needed that.’”

As mentioned earlier, Lewis did win three races in a season when Mark Webber won only once with a Red Bull RB7. They were solid wins too, with his superb charge in China at one end of the year, and a dominant performance from the front in Abu Dhabi at the other end.

“I like to think of the good things that I’ve done,” said Lewis in Brazil. “I’ve had three Grand Prix wins this year, which is not as much as I would hope for, but I’m still grateful for them. Obviously they were positive races where I was able excel to where I should be.

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Adam Cooper

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