Hamilton, the responsibility of the champion: from the "vintage" comeback to the alarm about the three engines of 2018...

Well done Luigino! This time the English four-time world champion deserves applause bipartisan for the sincere, frank message, which reveals a still very strong infatuation for the sport of which it is now a true flag. Compared to the spoiled "kid" (cit.) of ten years ago, Lewis has now matured, and the fourth iris has probably made him responsible in some ways.

The words spoken in the aftermath of the splendid Interlagos race almost mark a break with the idea of ​​the champion with a controversial character, eccentric in his ways and not inclined to socialize with his colleagues. But let's go in order. The British champion in Brazil slipped through half the field to the right and left, having fun and having fun. Thanks to his exceptional driving, but also, as he sincerely admitted, to a completely new engine, which gave him the possibility of pushing on the accelerator as if there were no tomorrow, without being forced to "manage" the complex power unit.

Never like this time, however, has Hamilton wanted to send a message to the FIA ​​leaders, transforming the honors received into the burdens due to a champion of his calibre. This is more or less the concept: “I haven't had this much fun in a long time, I was able to exploit all the power of the engine. I would like to go to the limit every single lap, while next year with only three engines we will have to be even more careful. It wasn't a great choice in my opinion. Look at this race, the riders in the top positions couldn't push like me, when we talk about the future we also have to think about situations like this."

The last words sound like a condemnation without appeal to the FIA, with Liberty Media wanting to relaunch F1 without however understanding the importance and need for a step back, a return to the origins. This is why Hamilton's comeback acquires a "vintage" flavor, it takes us back to a Formula 1 that we had forgotten, ready to impress us easily for "the qualifying pace held for 71 laps“, forgetting that such tight races represented the norm until recently, marking the destinies and victories of champions, but also of less good drivers, because the faster the race, the more selection takes place. Three power units per season from 2018. We can already imagine the remote control from the walls and the unobtainable maps to be set (poor Kimi who is still looking for C71!), the laps in free practice, the mess with the hybrid components and the starting grids written in table with penalties. Never had F1 kneeled so cowardly to technological progress that it went so far as to abjure itself, its essence, its mission, which is to enchant audiences by being the emblem of pure speed.

To make us reflect, perhaps to make those in charge reflect, a symbol of the highest category was thought of, a driver who divides the masses, but who in any case knows how to make people talk about himself. Well, never like this time has Lewis Hamilton embodied everyone's feelings and expressed it in a few passionate words. And we must give weight to the thought of this son of the wind tired of running with the handbrake on.

Antonino Rendina

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