Now you just have to be taking the piss, unless of course, James Allen bought you breakfast.


ITV's coverage was without doubt the most sycophantic one sided truth skewing operation ever launched to support a British "star" Even David Blunketts dog noticed it.

the bolded is the excuse I frankly find quite silly, cos its based on nothing in reality..nothing we've seen. If that was the case, that they view Lewis on another level or wutnot, how come they've never said or alluded to anything to that effect...ever?

The only thing u'll see them admit is Lewis can drive a badly setup car better

Matter of fact, their whole commentary is geared towards arguing the opposite, that "no! they are on the same level"....conc. on the negative in Lewis driving to knock him down a notch, give constant excuses about why Button isnt performing up to Lewis standards in each session, and embellish his accomplishments when he does well. Funny how conveniently Benson remembers the only stint all season where Jenson drops Lewis (albeit just for a while) and then tries to portray that as something that epitomized Jenson's season or at the very least occurred a few more times. Brundle pretty much does the same thing in his review "....his impressive drive at Monza summed up his season for me". I read that and I ...great unbiased journalism, when his best race sums up the season...absolutely no mention of the Koreas n co. Nothing close to alluding to the fact that in races both drivers finished, Jenson only finished ahead thrice (and that includes Japan). I understand if they wanna get all nationalistic n go soft on british drivers...but why treat the other guy differently?

If they expect Lewis to be a notch above, they wont constantly make excuses everytime Jenson qualifies behind Lewis, "the car is not to his liking, first year in Mclaren, 5 engineers, tire warming" etc....sht even some of his biggest fans here already accept perhaps Lewis just has more raw pace. I didnt see them making such excuses for Webber (who has a better qual. record vs his teammate). They gave benefit of doubt for Schumi n Massa earlier on but withdrew it when pattern remained...Button on the other hand, remains excused. The whole narrative now is that they are expecting Jenson to find something in his 2nd year at Mcl, go toe to toe with Lewis in qualy etc...

if they think Lewis is to a diff. standard or consider him beating Jens a given, then they sure have a peculiar way of presenting it.

How about writing a piece in which they (apparently) appear more critical of lewis than of jenson but place lewis as 2nd best driver of the season and button 6th? That would seem to be exactly the actions of somebody who is holding one driver to a higher standard than the other.

Although the relative placings seem to have been completely overlooked by you and a few others

I admire your style, but obviously you're fighting a lost battle. Actually your odds would probably be better if you'd attempt to turn me into a Hamilton fan.

From what I've read it's clear the press doesn't hide their opinion of seeing Lewis as one of - if not the - best driver out there, but they're quickly critical of him because they expect him to perform at a certain level. It works like this in most sports, and F1 is no exception. If you want to be a fan of Hamilton, that's simply what comes with it. And yes, even I have noticed sometimes that something written wasn't completely fair, but grow a pair and stop crying. What's the point of this constant complaining in this thread about how Lewis is seen by the press? First of all, like I've said previously, it doesn't have a direct relation with the Jenson and Lewis 2010 scorecard. Besides that it's been brought up in here by Lewis fans several times during the season, and it will keep happening, but what's your goal to discuss it here? How do you wish people to react on it? I don't see it going anywhere.

I'm still chuckling about itv's "professional" coverage Could you imagine if ITV were broadcasting F1 when Massa crashed in Hungary, that well known Button groupie Louise Goodman would have sprinted round the infield, bracelets jingling and jangling like a couple of skeletons having it away in a empty Roses tin, she would have athletically leapt up and grabbed one of the skids of the medical helicopter as it took off for the hospital, using her free hand to shove the mic in the doctors face she probably would have said "Can you ask Felipe what he thought of Lewis's lap times ?"

I reckon you are, you're just in the closet!

I couldn't bear ITV's coverage of F1, it was just awful. I wasn't really a Lewis fan in 2007 but even if I had been their gushing about him was so over the top, it was embarrassing. I do think it actually turned some people off supporting Lewis...fortunately for me his driving and personality eventually won me over.

I do not expect the BBC's coverage to be like ITV's, but I expect Lewis and Jenson to receive equal treatment. But it's not happening...they are definitely biased towards Jenson. Brundle and Legard make no secret that they favour Jenson but worst of all is Coulthard...he comes across as if he actively dislikes Lewis. I don't care if Jenson is his mate, he should be objective. The Australian GP was the worst of all...they really took delight in gloating about Jenson's win when Lewis had had an absolutely miserable weekend. It was as if they were saying "hey Lewis, we don't need you any more, we have a new hero...now we're going to kick you when you're down". Absolutely sickening.

It's just like Ferrari complaining that the FIA are now biased against them, because they are now treated the same as everyone else.

I think we all know you are pro Hamilton, to the detriment of every other driver, but to get a more honest review of ITVs coverage may I point you to some of the threads pointing out the pro Hamilton fan club that was ITVs coverage:
http://forums.autosport.com/index.php?show...373&st=4360
http://forums.autosport.com/index.php?show...07838&st=14

Does this count towards the scorecard? (Although Jenson's team won overall.)

as far as I can see this as onlooker
I think their (BBC) F1 experts themselves didn't set the world alight at their time at F1
Perhaps some of them, if they had the BRAWN GP car at their time could have made a "Button" but never, never ever been a driver like Lewis
(so they could identify themselfes more with Button)
Lewis put them all ( Brundle Couldhart, etc..) in his shadow
and if they want to get out of this, they have to find some things to criticise Lewis or his performances
It's perhaps a kind of collective image neurosis, they all suffer from, when it comes to Lewis

I think that's a bit harsh on Brundle. Generally speaking he often cites Lewis as "driving beautifully" etc. I wouldn't be surprised if he named Lewis as his driver of the year.

Wht did make me laugh this year was Ant having a raging hardon about the way that Jenson was nailing the third to last corner in practice in China.... yet Lewis was completely nailing the rest of the lap.... Odd......

You lot sure are digging deep.

Id say that was pretty selective memory.

I remember Ant doing the same, but also commenting how if they both sat down and looked at where one another was losing speed against each then they both would have an all round better lap.

Ant mentioned on several occasions that Lewis was better through the first two sectors.

The reason I suspect it was such a big deal to Ant was because Lewis was clearly driving too hard into that corner, yet common sense tells us that for such a corner (ie, with a long acceleration point directly after) then a steady approach would most likley be the quicker option. A similar situation to Massa at Melbourne when his engineer had to come onto the radio and inform him that if he altered his line into the 2nd to last corner, he would be better setup for the final corner, again a corner with an opening exit.

Again another point maybe, JB would have been losing out on several corners in S1 and S2, whereas for Lewis it was most likley a single corner. Its obviously alot harder to analyse where you are losing time over such a long period than it is for a short period.

From this year ive noted that Jenson often loses out in the quicker corners to Lewis whilst Jenson can often gain time underbraking. The obvious example being Abu Dhabi. Lewis was through S3 through being able to really hussle the car, whilst Jenson often gained time through the heavy braking sections. Its a pattern ive noticed throughout the year. Thing is, Lewis is no slouch under braking so the time difference isnt great, 1-2 tenths max, whilst Jenson could easily lose 3 tenths to Lewis in one sector, again Abu Dhabi being the obvious nad most recent example.

I would say the difference is a function of their styles. Jenson carrys alot of apex speed through the slower stuff because of his braking style, he sheds speed more gradually whilst Alonso/Lewis seem more to brake harder and sort the car out at the apex. JB makes sure the car is stable before the apex, so he can drive through. But as we know Lewis doesnt really mind a rear end that likes to play rough.

Through the quick corners, well thats obvious. Quick corners is where the car is on the limit. Need I say any more? Even as JB fan if I wanted any evidence that Lewis has huge talent then its watching him through quicker corners. If you want an analysis go google, Schumacher through Bridge telemetry against Herbet whilst they were at Benno. Its Hamiltons ability to sense the car moving around and make what will be mm adjustments which sets him apart for the quicker corners.

I actually wanted to post this... same thing here, something ive also noticed all season. Jenson is able to match or trade times in sectors that are all about straight forward hard braking. I think he might even be slightly more consistent in always just nailing it right. Its in the high speed stuff and slow technical corners that Lewis has proved to have an advantage. Which kinda contradicts what folks used to say earlier about Lewis strength being hard braking and weakness being "high speed tracks in dry conditions" (legendary thread)

Not that selective. I remember a few of us on here having a good chuckle at Ant at the time.

Whilst I agree with most of your analysis, surely the way the two respective drivers set their cars up had rather a large contribution to the phenomenon. Good for turn A, B and C but inherrently not so good for turn D etc....

this has something to do with the car
This years car didn't allow Lewis to take the corners like he has done last year, or years before
next year perhaps we se a different style, again

DC I agree with to a certain extent, although I'm not sure if it's bias or just that he's a bit crap as a pundit.
On the other hand you'll often hear him say 'we all know lewis is (insert compliment here)' before saying something slightly critical so it might come down to holding him to a higher standard again.
There might also be a bit of feeling competely overshwdowed when lewis came through etc, his history with jenson is obviously very different to his history with lewis.

Yep. Monza this year put all that to rest once and for all.

Erm.... so what about his wins at Canada and Turkey.... or qualifying 3rd at Suzuka after only a few laps of running all weekend?

Well said. If the Button Broadcasting Corporation think Lewis is so brilliant, they have a funny way of showing it.

Don't agree with the first part , but the second part is spot on. That Australia coverage was abominable.

There's no need. I have my opinion so live with it.

Refresh your memory re. Australia.

DC: Jenson has the whole garage on his side now.
DC to Button: Has Lewis congratulated you yet? (trying to stick the knife in that not only is he a worse driver, but he is also a bad sportsman, but Button of course told him Lewis was the first to congratulate him)

Then we had the whole fawning forum. Yeuchhh.

Brundle about Buttons season :
"He pushed Hamilton hard on a number of occasions and out-smarted him with tyre strategy and experience. Without a doubt, Hamilton and Button have learned from each other.

"Button won in Australia and China but his impressive drive at Monza summed up his season for me. In Italy, he had the confidence to go with an alternative downforce strategy, made it work and put on a great show to finish a close second to Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. "Button has been a worthy and professional world champion. He's disappointed he didn't have a better shot at retaining that number one on his car, but his qualities shone through on many occasions and his decision has been vindicated.

"Now he needs to sort out his qualifying performances for 2011."

about Lewis:
"You can never count out Lewis Hamilton, who has been in contention for the world title in three of the four seasons that he has been in F1.

"He is always going for it, even though he has not had the fastest car this year.

"But for every brave overtake we applaud on his way to magnificent victories in Turkey, Montreal and Spa, there have been moments this season where it has all gone wrong.

"His crashes in Monza, Singapore and Suzuka effectively took him out of championship contention.

"This season has been a lost opportunity for Hamilton, but I still see the 2008 champion very much growing as a race driver."



If we someone had not watched the season, he could think Button has finished ahead od Lewis with min.50P
and Lewis season was a complete disaster

Funny is, that noone of the experts mentions Button races at Korea, Japan,
the races where he has outsmarted himself and the strategys were lousy and the races, too.

What's this bit mean, re Button: He's disappointed he didn't have a better shot at retaining that number one on his car?

How come he did not have a good enough shot but this season was a missed opportunity for LH?

... still, its not worth getting wound up over these guys.

The usual double standards, reveals the truth of their genuine expectation for both drivers. Its their own form of Freudian slip. The expect great things from Hamilton and not from Button. For all their praise of Button, they were never going to castigate him for his Hungary, Korea, Singapore and Japan performances.

or that jenson has abit of money to do so and just being a nice guy the paranoia from some hamilton fans is ridiculous

well if jenson had a normal working car in korea that would have seen jb defiantly on the podium i defiantly see that the equivalent to losing a fair amount of points

I agree, I reckon Brundle rates Lewis very highly indeed. He'll criticise Lewis openly but when it comes to praising him he says stuff that he wouldn't about many if any other drivers.

I wouldn't say Legard is biased towards Button, quite the reverse in fact. He's always going on about how he can only drive a perfect car as if he'd know. When Lewis pulls off a fairly ordinary move he's all over it and when Jensen (or someone else) does it a few laps later there's barely a mention.

Can't say I blame them for going on about Buttons win in Australia. After all it was only a couple of weeks before that just about everyone was saying he'd never win and Lewis would wipe the floor with him. I certainly don't recall any slagging off of Lewis.

The car was working "normal" at Korea respectively as normal as Lewis car
it was Button who was unable to drive it

who came up with all that talk about Lewis will wipe the floor with Button (IMO he had done it), the lions den, etc
wasn't it the funny experts gang themselves?

Sorry Grenada ...I think if I had been a Lewis fan at the start of 2007 my opinion on ITV might well have been different!



Don't remind me...shudder. The BBC's coverage that day was a disgrace...the whole forum was one long Button-fest and they took great delight in contrasting Button's win with Lewis's comments about his extra pitstop. Then the following day we had Jake Humphrey's blog going on about how there was this "great outpouring of emotion at McLaren that he didn't see at all in 2009". DC is the worst of all, he is sinking lower in my estimation every day. I read an interview with him in which he said "Sebastian Vettel will be a great ambassador for F1, as Jenson Button was last year". What is it with this "ambassador" thing anyway?

It means he'll be taking the press out to dinner.

well it was meant to be something to do with the suspension and braking system jb had but it was as if they were in different cars

Also he says that Hamilton and Button can learn from each other, but he only really says where Hamilton can learn from Button. The whole article stinks.

Don't worry Coral, we can't agree on absolutely everything. I just remember the ITV coverage like a lost golden age of Hamilton apt appreciation.

Looking back now, it's clear to see that ITV coverage of F1 at this time was practically the Lewis Hamilton show, whereas nowadays he's treated as just another driver on the grid, it's much more impartial. I'd applaud this if it wasn't for the fact that they do clearly side with Button. That Melbourne coverage will always stick with me, eulogising over Button's 'smart' tyre call and noticing Hamilton's amazing surge through the field almost as an afterthought.

One thing I totally disagree with though are those who think Brundle favours Button over Hamilton. While he is clearly a big admirer of Button, I know for a fact he regards Alonso, Vettel and Hamilton as the top drivers in F1.

Careful there... you have to keep some sort of general car shortcomings in reserve for that day, otherwise it would mean that getting overtaken after the restart was simply an error by Hamilton, and we can't have that, or can we?

aspi , you know what I mean (I wont fall for your tricks, not today )
the McLarens had braking problems but it was the same for both
but if you think, the car was extraordinary bad to drive at Korea, I won't object

Yeah, like that.



Well, not that I said it, but if it helps you to pretend that I did, be my guest.

Do we know if Lewis was using that fancy new braking system that Jenson has been doing the testing work on (during the last few races).

I can't beleive this thread didn't go silent after half season, been BLATANTLY obvious to me that lewis has been alot faster than jenson. Jenson maybe more cautious when overtaking (or just not overtaking), and pretty steady races but on pace, lewis thrahed him.

I think that ppl are missing out on one thing...

Brundle obviously assumes that Hamilton is much better driver than Button. Button needs to have fastest car to be in it, while for Hamilton its a missed opportunity because he can fight for WDC even in a third best car. For Button, not being trashed by Hamilton is a success, while for Hamilton anything but WDC is not good enough.

Thats why Brundle is aiming at 'Button had successful season, Hamilton failed a bit' - its actually a compliment to Lewis, it shows how high Brundle really thinks of Lewis capabilites.

Anyone watched the pitlane report from Abu Dhabi from Ted Kravitz? Go watch it and hear what Jenson has to say about Lewis. Quite interesting.

Jenson pretty much says Lewis is one of F1's great drivers, aswell as being the best team mate. The sooner JB realizes Lewis is likley the quicker guy, then the better of he will be, and it looks like he's come to that realisation. Jenson wont match him on speed race in race out, but Jensons proved this season that speed isnt always key.

i think where lewis has got button is in qualifying but race pace its close but qualifying means alot im afraid especially with no refuelling

Agree with this ... JB needs to do what he does, instead of messing around trying to match LH.... and ironically he has more of a chance of matching LH.

Both drivers had exactly the same problems with locking brakes
both drivers were overtaken at the same time in the same situations in Korea & Brazil
Lewis was not able to defend against Alonso and Button against Schumacher
If you read their quotes both McLaren drivers say the same. locking brakes, cold tyres, suboptimal balance etc

We have no confirmation about a new braking system from McLaren
and we don't know if they used it during "a few" races

We "know" this... but the public does not. The BBC is meant to serve the wider public... Brundle and the BBC should level with the public and say in clear words "LH is better" and then take it from there in terms of being fair and balanced... otherwise normal people that I speak to (no offence to you guys ) will keep asking me stupid questions about why I support LH over JB... and will keep making annoying stupid assumptions about the reasons for this... but that's just my issue.

I also think that the guys at the BBC saw what happened to James Allen and are scared to look pro-LH for fear of backlash....but they should look at surveys and what the FOM guys do. LH is much more popular in the UK post his 2009 travails (the Brits like to see people have it tough for some strange reason) and internationally the FOM guys give LH more air time than anyone else (even if he's not up to much in race)... so the BBC can be a bit braver next season. The ordinary punters like the "Lewis Hamilton Show".... which is the branding vehicle that LH's corporate sponsors are trying to push.