Quote:
Originally Posted by Artemis
IMHO it was just hubris. Hamilton mildly 'dive bombed' Alonso and very likely thought that Alonso would either yield or not cope with his pace. Alonso didn't yield. Impact.
It does not serve Hamilton's interests to damage his car, take himself out of the race, disappoint his team and tarnish his reputation. He is under very high pressure: he is required to score WDC and WCC points for Mercedes to justify his 40+ million paycheck. Mercedes expects top results - he has to live up to very high expectations, show that he's 'worth his salt'. As multiple champion and very seasoned Mercedes driver, he is not supposed to lag behind (the very talented) Mercedes rookie Russell in the WDC and not expected to fail to win even one single race of the 14 races so far this season.
It looks like Hamilton has lost his mojo the moment he crossed the finish at the Abu Dhabi 2021 F1 race (Toto Wolff told that that race would leave "scars" - looks like it left way more than just scars). Can't blame everything on the W13 car. But Hamilton ain't the first: in the past some other F1 champions made rare pilot errors in the 'winter days' of their career and could no longer keep up with competing younger top drivers.
Does the '37-yr old Hamilton' still have what it takes compared to the 'young(er) Hamilton' ? His track record is impressive, definitely - among the very best F1 drivers. But IMHO the peculiar racing incident with Alonso during the Spa 2022 F1 race was yet another tell-tale sign of Hamilton's decline at the top of F1. At some point, standing your ground becomes a struggle because of your ageing body: it takes more and more effort physically and mentally to prepare and perform in the super-competitive and demanding F1 environment. Champions come and go. Circle of life.
I hope that Hamilton still manages to win an F1 race this season.
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HAM must have known that Fernie would not slow or steer away when he presented himself out of the blue in a precarious position not clearing the 14 car and there was plenty of room off track on the left for him to steer away slightly if he wasn't sure where Alonso was.
HAM may have seven world championships on paper but somehow Alonso still sees him as the cocky rookie teammate that he was mentoring in 2008 hence the wagging finger as a warning not to mess with him.