Hamilton's First

It was only a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ Hamilton was going to win his first race. And like when you are waiting for a bus, when the first comes a few more come after it in succession. In Hamilton’s case he followed up his victory in the action packed Canadian grand prix with victory at Indy a week later.

Straight out of the box it was easy to see that Lewis had taking to Formula One like a duck to water. He’s given his world champion team-mate the run-around on a number of occasions earlier in the year and seeing him on the top step was only going to be a matter of time. When all those around him in Canada lost their head, he kept his. Like the parting of the Red Sea, as all those around him fell to pieces with silly mistakes, such as Massa running the red light at the end of the pit lane along with unavoidable instances of needing to pit when the pit lane was closed for Alonso – all that was required of Hamilton was to keep it on the island (literally) and bring the car home. Heidfeld’s BMW and Wurz’s Williams produced two great drives but were never going to challenge the McLaren for raw pace. At this stage in the season the front two teams are still a long way ahead in terms of race pace.

In a race full of incident we were witness to the strength of today’s Formula One crash test procedures. Robert Kubica was a passenger in a massive shunt heading down to the hairpin that saw him like a ping pong ball across the track, narrowly missing the parked Torro Rosso and everyone else before coming to a rest. Despite original statements claiming broken bones the Pole got away with just a concussion and a sprain. A fine example of how far car safety has come. His desire to jump straight back in and go driving a week later at Indy was admirable even though he had to sit it out on medical grounds. A safe bet given Indy’s history with high speed crashes, something Ralf Schumacher can attest to.

Media Bias? Never!

If there was ever a chance to show blatantly how the English media is willing to cover up the mistakes of their national drivers we certainly saw it on the Monaco grid.

British sensation Lewis Hamilton gets interviewed on his front row start on the advantages off avoiding not been stuck in the middle-to-end of the pack and having to deal with the added burden of traffic. Track position is vital at Monaco in its cramped state, with little to know overtaking chances at the Principality. Hamilton then comments that the back markers at the tail end of the grid were ‘monkeys’. That’s right – monkeys. Am I the only one who finds this a racist remark? If anything it is nothing short of offensive. Yet he gets away it. The British commentary team sweep it under the carpet like it never happened and don’t mentioning it again to ensure the pristine reputation of the driver.

This begs the question of what would have happened if anyone else had made that comment. Especially with Hamilton been the first black driver in Formula One. They would have been all over them by tying the comment ‘monkey’ to Hamilton’s skin colour – since history has littered with the term been associated with dark skinned individuals.

I’m disappointed in the youngster for his comparison but more so in the media for failing to latch onto it and highlighting it more.