A t the moment Mercedes announced that Michael Schu- macher would retire for a second time and would be replaced by Lewis Hamilton from 2013 onwards, it was clear that all the legendary German’s records would be under threat. Hamilton had then amassed 21 victories and one championship title with McLaren. Today, a full eight years later, the countdown has started to the race that will be followed by reports stat- ing that Lewis Hamilton has achieved the most victories in the history of Formula One. He will have the op- portunity to surpass the total of 91 Grand Prix triumphs as early as this October. If for some reason he fails to do so during this autumn month, his name will surely be inscribed in gold- en letters by the end of the season. And everything could have head- ed in another direction. e world of Formula One wondered why the German team didn’t welcome into its ranks the best German driver, three-time champion Sebastian Vet- tel. Why Hamilton and not Vettel? at question was repeated over the next 12 months, because Lewis on- ly recorded a single victory in his first season with Mercedes, while Sebastian had a total of 13! Along with a new title. And then everyone understood why! It’s because Ham- ilton is the best. Alongside perse- verance and knowhow, he also pos- sesses incredible natural talent. e planet has athletes who push rival- ry to the point at which it becomes nasty, ugly to watch. Hamilton isn’t among them. Lewis
is loved to have a fun time, to hang out with Beckham and the British jet-set, to hit the town with singers, to wear colourful clothes and sport tattoos... He was a representative of the new generation that wasn’t real- ly interested in what happened yes- terday or a few days ago, let alone 10-15 years ago. ey calculated that “society would eat him alive”, that he’d never be the new Nigel Mansell, Jackie Stewart or Jim Clark. ey were right – he never became that; he became even better than them. Over recent years Formula One has been converted into one man’s struggle against time and records that were set over the seven decades of the world’s fastest circus. Ham- ilton shifted the boundaries and no one doubted any longer that he would become the GOAT - Greatest of all time. Victories and titles came thick and fast, and on the eternal list, just like on the track, he began catch- ing and overtaking, one by one, Fer- nando Alonso, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Vettel et al. And then he se- cured the 94 th pole position of his career at Monza in September. e lap that brought him the number one position in the starting line-up saw him “fly” over the track in one minute, 18 seconds and 887 hun- dredths, clocking an average speed of 264 kilometres per hour, which is the fastest lap in the history of For- mula One! e previous fastest lap on any Formula One track was re- corded by Finn Kimi Räikkönen in a Ferrari, also at Monza, just two years ago, with an average speed of 263.587 kilometres per hour, with which he broke the 14-year record of phenomenal Colombian driver Juan Pablo Montoya, who recorded a time of 1.19.525 minutes back in 2004. But all of that was done in vain, be- cause Hamilton set a new record for the history books. Michael Schumacher was the best, and will justifiably remain so for many. But when we see what Hamilton has achieved so far, and what he is likely to achieve during this season and those to follow, we are also justified in claiming that he is already the G.O.A.T..
Hamilton je pomerio granice i više niko ne sumnja da će postati GOAT Hamilton shifted the boundaries and no one doubted any longer that he would become the GOAT
ži krug u istoriji Formule 1! Pret- hodno je najbrži krug na bilo ko- joj stazi Formule 1 izvezao Finac Kimi Raikonen u bolidu Ferarija , takođe u Monci, pre dve godine, prosečnom brzinom od 263,587 ki- lometara na čas i tako posle 14 go- dina oborio rekord fenomenalnog Kolumbijca Huana Pabla Mon- toje, koji je 2004. imao vreme 1,19,525. Ali sve je to uzalud, jer Hamilton je upisao novi rekord za istoriju. Mihael Šumaher je
doesn’t want to worm his way through; for someone to gift him something on the track... He just wants to win. Fairly. e old guard was irritated by his behavior beyond his racing car. Champions used to be expected to live in a paddock, to fill their lungs with a mixture of petrol and burnt tyres ... Lew-
bio najbolji i za mnoge će to ostati, s punim pravom. Ali kada vi- dimo šta je Hamil- ton postigao do danas i šta će vero- vatno postići ove i narednih sezona, s pravom možemo da tvrdimo da je on već sada GOAT – najbolji svih vremena.
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