sportska priča / sport story
C hoose names for your children as though they will one day have some street named after them, wrote Duško Ra- dović.And,indeed,namescansometimespredeterminea child’s destiny. The fastest man in the world’s greatest cir- cus, known as Formula 1, was named after sprinter Carl Lewis, the former 100 metre record holder, one of the fastest people of all time. The Godfather, the universe, or something else got involved a little. That’s because Hamilton was aged 23 years and 300 days when he became the champion of the fastest caravan in the world. In the last race of the season in Brazil in 2008, the McLaren Mercedes driver finished in fifth place and thus secured the title ahead of Fe- lipe Massa (Ferrari), becoming the youngest champion of all time. Lewis’s mother, Carmen, seldom supports her son from be- side the track. They are in good relations, but as a typical mother she is scared to watch her son racing at a speeds of 320 kilometres per hour and gambling with his life on a daily basis. She divorced from husband Anthony Hamilton when Lewis was two years old. She took care of her son until he turned 12, when he moved to his father’s, who had abandoned everything else in his life in order to turn this slight kid from Stevenage into a Formula 1 ace. Father Anthony became closer to his son when he bought him a go-kart in 1991, in which Lewis caught the attention of McLaren’s scouts. In order to secure the opportunity for Lewis to travel and perform at karting championships, Anthony was working three jobs at one point, but he never missed a single race. With his incli- nation for bombastic statements, superstitions, a short fuse and forthright statements, Hamilton showed by the age of ten that he was eloquent and inclined towards great deeds. “Good afternoon. I’m Lewis Hamilton. I want to drive for you one day,”he once said to British businessman Ron Dennis, head of the McLaren team. Dennis replied:“Call me in nine years, we’ll sort something out.”Two years later, he was included in theYoung Driv- er Support programme, which is McLaren’s factory of driving aces. The boy simply wanted to be the best. And he didn’t hesitate to show he likes to compete on the track. And not just that. He likes to win. More than others. When Hamilton debuted for McLaren in 2007, he was awaited by double champion (2005, 2006) Alonso. Naturally, the young Brit wanted to be the best, so it didn’t cross his mind to remain in Alon- so’s shadow. This led to chaos breaking out in the McLaren team, so Alonso initially back returned to Renault in 2008, then joined Fer- rari, but failed to become a champion. Unlike him, Hamilton, as a man whose vocabulary doesn’t contain the word failure, won ti- tles in his Mercedes in 2008, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018. The five- time champion equalled the record of the legendary Fangio. The only driver ahead of him is Michael Schumacher, with his, for now elusive, record of seven titles. “I have 91 victories. That is a lot, but I’ll be here for a few more years and I hope to at least close the gap on Schumacher. Michael was a genius, both in the way he fit into Ferrari and what he did with the team. I’ll always be a fan of his,”concluded his five-time champion. And Lewis isn’t only intriguing on the track – he’s known as a great seducer. His name will surely remain inscribed in the his- tory of Formula 1, but many will remember him when they think of one of the most beautiful women in the world – Naomi Camp- bell. This long-legged beauty is 15 years older than Hamilton, but years weren’t an obstacle for this champion. They were in a short, tumultuous relationship, before he sailed into a passionate relation- ship filled with reversals with Nicole Scherzinger, the most popular member of group Pussycat Dolls. After her came a chain of beau- ties, but also gossip escaping Hamilton’s bedroom. One thing is certain: due to his lucidity on the track, courage and refusal to compromise, Lewis will be remembered as one of the best Formula 1 drivers – ever.
„Dobar dan. Ja sam Luis Hamilton. Hoću da vozim za vas jednog dana“, rekao je Ronu Denisu, šefu Mekla- renovog tima. Denis mu je odgovorio: „Zovi me za devet godina, sredićemo nešto.“ Dve godine kasnije bio je uključen u Young Driver Support Program , Meklarenovu fabriku asova. Jedno- stavno, dečak je hteo da bude najbolji. Nije se libio da na stazi pokaže da voli da se takmiči. I ne samo to. Voli da pobeđuje. Više od ostalih. Kada je Hamilton 2007. debi- tovao u Meklarenu , dočekao ga je Alonso, dvostruki pr- vak (2005, 2006). Britanac je, naravno, želeo da bude naj- bolji, pa mu nije padalo na pamet da bude u Alonsovoj senci. Zato je došlo do haosa u Meklarenovom timu, pa se Alonso 2008. vratio najpre u Reno, a onda i u Ferari, ali nije uspeo da bude šampion. Za razliku od njega, Ha- milton je kao čovek u čijem rečniku ne postoji reč „neu- speh“ u Mercedesu osvajao titule 2008, 2014, 2015, 2017. i 2018. Petostruki šampion izjednačio se sa legendarnim Fanđom. Ispred njega je još samo Mihael Šumaher sa za- sad nedostižnih sedam. – Ne znam da li ću imati priliku da osvojim više, ko zna, ali daću sve od sebe. Imam 91 pobedu, to jeste mno-
go, ali biću ovde još nekoliko godina i nadam se da ću se makar približiti Šumaheru. Mihael je bio genije i po to- me kako se uklopio u Ferari i šta je uradio sa ekipom. Uvek ću biti njegov navijač – zaključio je petostruki šam- pion. Nije Luis intrigantan samo na stazi – važi za veli- kog zavodnika. Njegovo ime će sigurno ostati zabeleže- no u istoriji Formule 1, ali mnogi će ga se setiti i kada po- misle na jednu od najlepših žena sveta – Naomi Kembel. Dugonoga lepotica je 15 godina starija od Hamiltona, ali godine nisu bile prepreka za šampiona. Bili su u kratkoj, burnoj vezi pre nego što je uplovio u strasnu vezu punu preokreta sa Nikol Šerzinger, najpopularnijom članicom grupe Pussycat Dolls . Zajedno su proveli čak osam godi- na. Nakon nje su se ređale lepotice, ali i tračevi iz Hamil- tonove spavaće sobe. Jedno je sigurno, zbog svoje lucidnosti na stazi, hra- brosti i beskompromisnosti Luis će ostati upamćen kao jedan od najboljih vozača Formule 1 ikada.
„Dobar dan. Ja sam Luis
Hamilton. Hoću da vozim za vas jednog dana“, rekao je Ronu Denisu “Good afternoon. I’m Lewis Hamilton. I want to drive for you one day,” he once said to Ron Dennis
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