Lewis Hamilton
In any normal race, we’d have been happy to give Badger’s Top Dog award to any of the top three finishers: Sergio Perez, Romain Grosjean or Lewis Hamilton. Such were their standards of performance, it made it a tricky decision.
That said, it wasn’t so challenging that we needed too long to think about it. There was really only one man to whom it could go – Lewis Hamilton.
Photo: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
He drove with an assurance that we haven’t always seen (especially in Canada), tremendous pace and a healthy respect for the craft of building a race victory.
In the past, we’d have seen him unsettled to the point of distraction by the slightly sticky right rear tyre during his second pit stop, or by the fact that his two competitors for the race victory didn’t stop as his team assured him they would. This time, we saw a man who went out there and got the job done.
Towards the end of the race, and when he was clearly faster than both Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, he was a study in calm.
The Lewis Hamilton of yesteryear might have tried to bung it down the inside (or outside, on a particularly lairy day) as soon as he was able. Instead, he bided his time and passed both of them in the easiest and least risky place to do so – along the back straight and with the advantage of DRS.
Let’s hope it’s his first victory of many this season. Well done Lewis, you’re this weekend’s Top Dog.
Mick Hodges
June 11, 2012
I agree with everything you’ve said about Hamiltons race but there’s not a cigarette paper between his and Grosjeans performance. Extraordinary piece of driving to keep his car competitive after only one tyre change. He even got Hamilton in his sights.
leadfree
June 11, 2012
Grosjean & Perez both more deserving in my book .
Sonnie Jane
June 11, 2012
Grosjean or Perez for me too.
Joe B
June 11, 2012
Spot on. Hamilton did everything right and got the strategy to work perfectly by being the best race driver out there – conserving the tyres for the first stint, and then being fastest when he needed to be. Grosjean and Perez both put in excellent drives to make their strategies work, but without Red Bull and Ferrari both shooting themselves in the foot Perez at least wouldn’t have made the podium.
Jk
June 11, 2012
Spot on – sympathise with the comments about Grosjean and Perez, although it seemed like they did not get enough airtime by FOM or Sky so it was hard to tell what they were doing throughout the race.
Full marks to Alonso for coming out and saying ‘happy with the strategy’ and keeping behind the team but that was a really big mistake that could cost him the title come November.
Benson Jammichello
June 11, 2012
I think the main deciding factor for me (not stressed enough in the article, perhaps) was that Hamilton was competing at the front all the way through. Both Grosjean and Perez weren’t having to run at that kind of pace consistently and, as Joe B points out, their final positions owed a great deal to the go-for-broke strategy decisions made by Ferrari and Red Bull.
That said, they were both fantastic drives, but I just felt Hamilton was more deserving.
nicko
June 11, 2012
Hamilton would have won if Alonso/Vettel had made stops or not (of if Vettel had come in earlier), Grosjean/Perez would not have been where they were if this had occurred. Hamilton for me too.