100 Poles

[Doctor Phibes]

First time it's ever been done in Formula 1.

Lewis Hamilton gets his 100th pole position

There's hardly any records left to break.

[Catseye3]

"Hamilton's Mercedes was just 0.036 seconds faster than Verstappen . . . "

But who's counting?

I saw a dual interview with Hamilton and Tom Brady conducted by James Corden. Hamilton seemed very gracious and well spoken and self possessed. An attractive guy.

You can see it here:

Link to video

One commenter said, "Dunno why Lewis gets so much hate here in the UK. The guy just exudes confidence, not cockiness and he's always lazer focused when competing at a high level.

[Horace]

It's never been obvious to me what the difference is between a great race car driver and an average one. With other sports it's more obvious.

[taiwan_girl]

@horace said in 100 Poles:

It's never been obvious to me what the difference is between a great race car driver and an average one. With other sports it's more obvious.

Equipment and sponsors? LOL

(Actually I dont know much about car racing)

[Doctor Phibes]

@horace said in 100 Poles:

It's never been obvious to me what the difference is between a great race car driver and an average one. With other sports it's more obvious.

Hamilton has been with Mercedes since 2013, and won the world drivers title every year except one, beating his team mate in an identical car. A comparison with a team mate is an obvious metric since it takes away the variable of different machinery.

He joined a team as a rookie in 2007 and outperformed his team-mate in an identical car. His team mate at that time was Fernando Alonso, a double world champion.

It wasn't that hard to see he was special.

If you watch the sport, some drivers stand out - Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, for example, all did. Others have, too, and been less successful, but those three in my lifetime have been obviously special.

[Horace]

I'm not denying that there's race car driving talent, I just don't know what it means, other than that they're good at winning races.

[Doctor Phibes]

@horace said in 100 Poles:

I'm not denying that there's race car driving talent, I just don't know what it means, other than that they're good at winning races.

There's an ability to drive that little bit quicker, and more consistently, than the rest of the field, to put in a special lap when necessary. And to overtake. Some drivers have that instinct to race, and beat people in equal or better equipment, and some don't.

Some demonstrate their ability when it rains. There are a couple of instances where Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher drove in wet conditions, in a slower car than others had, and absolutely demolished the competition. Rain is the great leveler.

The difference between motor racing and other sports is that the machinery is so important, so often it's hard to tell whether somebody is really good if they don't have a good car.

[Doctor Phibes]

@doctor-phibes said in 100 Poles:

Rain is the great leveler.

Obviously, this doesn't apply to American motor "racing", where the race is typically cancelled when it rains. With all due respect to our colonial cousins, it would probably be a good idea to get the hang of turning right before venturing out during a rain storm.