After back to back World Championships, auto racing's biggest star Lewis Hamilton is under fire as he failed to win a single grand prix since the summer break. Hamilton has also gone from leading the races to losing to his strongest contender - his own teammate Nico Rosberg, after the latter won at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Hamilton spent his four consecutive wins just placing in the podium and not getting the gold. He won third places in Austria and Germany and won second places in Italy and Singapore. Experts attribute all these loses to Hamilton's crazy way of living and attitude problem.
Get Your Head In The Game
Rosberg has improved in many ways from the summer break, which may be the reason why he won against his teammate. However, many racing experts blame Hamilton for his lifestyle.
"If you're up in any job, you can get carried away by success: you think you can always get your way and then suddenly someone comes along who does it better or more consistently. So I always thought there might be someone better than me or had a faster car, so I always worked on that basis. I could never relax." said Jackie Stewart, who is a three-time F1 world champion.
Hamilton has also developed a reputation for being a party boy, going to parties and hanging out with the likes of Pharrell, Carmelo Anthony and Kanye West. He has also dated a string of women, namely singer Nicole Scherzinger, reality TV star Kendall Jenner, model Gigi Hadid and America's Next Top Model contestant Winnie Harlow. He was also seen dancing with Rihanna in her native country Barbados.
Former F1 team boss Flavio Briatore reckons that part of the problem is his lack of focus caused by his wild streak and antics and that Hamilton needs to get his head in the game. Briatore branded Hamilton for being "a little DJ and a little rapper" who should "think less and less music and should focus on F1."
In response, Hamilton said, "I don’t need your validation. I know my heart. I know how hard I work. I know my values. I know the love for my family. I know who I am as a person. And I enjoy my life. They don’t want me to enjoy it," in an interview with Complex.
Stronger Rivals
It is an irony that Hamilton's strongest rival is also his teammate, Nico Rosberg. Both racers have battled it out for the title for the last three years. The former has always won in their past races but things have now changed, with Rosberg taking an eight-point lead in the standings thanks to his last win during the Singapore prix.
However, it seems that Rosberg's win over Hamilton has now become the source of contention between the two racers. This was confirmed by Australian racer Daniel Ricciardo, who placed third during the Singapore prix, emphasizing the dead silence between them.
"In the room before we go out on the podium just after the race, you take the helmet off and it's awkward for me because it's just so silent. I don't like silence too much, so I'm like trying to either talk to myself or make conversation with them but they are just happy enjoying the awkward silence. It's quite fun," Ricciardo said.
Another rising rival of Hamilton is young racing star Max Verstappen, who is the newest sensation in the F1 world. Experts have even said that the newcomer reminds them of Fernando Alonso, who is an F1 legendary racer. Despite the brewing rivalry, Hamilton is only eight points behind. Give that there are six races remaining, Hamilton still has time to catch up. And his fans are counting on him to do so.
See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?
