I haven’t followed Formula One in a long time. After Michael Schumacher won his second of five straight driving championships, I started to lose interest. But something happened yesterday that go my attention, and many around the world. (And boy, I wished I had taken the time to watch it.)
This season McLaren brought along the first black driver into Formula One, 22 year old Lewis Hamilton of Britain. They paired him up with the two-time defending champion Fernando Alonso. Obviously driving with Alonso hasn’t scared Hamilton, because he has finished on the podium (top three finishers) every race leading up to his historic victory yesterday in the Canadian Grand Prix.
Hamilton takes the checkered flag in Montreal.
What is great to see is that Hamilton wasn’t given a ride with an F1 team just because he was black. It’s obvious that he can drive. However I wonder if there was an issue before with teams not wanting to bring in a black driver before. I have always thought that wouldn’t being that Formula One is so international as it is. That is just my uneducated-on-the-subject opinion though.
One thing I have noticed in listening to an interview after finishing second in Monaco, and from what he says in the ARTICLE from ESPN’s web site, is that he has a good head on his shoulders (not something a lot of racers have). After the victory he said, “The next dream is to win the Formula One championship. But, bear in mind, I’m still a rookie and there’s bound to be some bad times, too.” Drivers with that kind of mentality go far in F1, for example Mika Häkkinen (two time champ), Jackie Stewart (three time champ), Alain Prost (four time champ), and Michael Schumacher (seven time champ).
Arms raised in victory on the podium.
Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton on his historic win.
And CHECK OUT what my internet friend Karen had to say about the victory.
Also, there is another ARTICLE about Hamilton writen by Dan Knutson.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
The reason why there hasn’t been any blacks in F1 is down to the green paper, or lack thereof. Formula one, along with the likes of Tennis (yes even Tennis), Golf and Show Jumping is an elitist sport, that can really be only undertaken by people who have money in the first place. It’s an expensive sport.
Hamilton got lucky because the Maclaren boss, Ron Dennis took him under his wing when he was a little boy, because he saw the potential in him. Lewis’s father worked two jobs for years so that Lewis could realise his dream.
What I love about this latest pioneer, is that as with the Williams sisters, Tiger Woods, and other black sportsmen/women of note, his success goes a long way towards encouraging other black kids to follow their dreams. You gotta love that.
I watched the race from start to finish, and let me tell you, it was the most exciting race I’ve watched for a while. Hamilton was flawless, and Alonso was desperate.
I recall from previous years that the Canadian circuit is one of the fastest, in the GP. The safety car was deployed four times in all yesterday, which is par for the course on this particular grid.
Indianapolis next, and Alonso hates this circuit with a passion, so let’s hope Lewis can make it two in a row!