Dr. Phil, again thank you for your posts. It's refreshing to see a different point of view (which I may not necessarily agree with) expressed with clarity and not rabid incoherence
It's interesting to note that Senna was regarded much the same when he was alive, but when he passed away, suddenly he was thought of as perfect. Drivers are still human beings, albeit highly competitive ones, and there is a school of thought that a driver who is too 'nice' will never win a WDC and forever be destined to make up the numbers. I think the reality lies somewhere between the two extremes, and I do still think that Hamilton attracts a lot of extra criticism purely because he is clearly so exceptional. I have been watching him all through the lower formulae and even six or seven years ago it was very clear that this kid was something special. Even then when he was winning, there was criticism of him because McLaren supported him. Of course, in F1 this is magnified x 1000 and so of course are the emotions.
But quite simply he was supported by McLaren by virtue of the fact he had the ability to justify that support. If he had not achieved the results there is no way he would have had the opportunity. Far more drivers get left behind when they fail to perform than the tiny percentage who do actually make it to F1.
I bet if he had done what everyone thought he would do this season, ie. played patsy to Alonso and been a safe, solid second and third place finisher, none of us would be having these conversations about him. Because he has confounded expectations and raised his game to a championship level, he also has to take all the associated baggage that comes with that. And again, being British has very little to do with it for me. I was never a fan of Hill, Button or Coulthard. I liked Mansell, but not because he was British, but because he had real balls and drove the wheels off a car. Hamilton's speed on a qualifying lap is something fantastic to behold.
I hope we have a great race and everyone enjoys it!