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Alain Prost-the Maestro

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Prost: driver aids ban to help Hamilton

By Michele Lostia and Pablo Elizalde

Four-time champion Alain Prost believes Lewis Hamilton will benefit from the lack of driving aids this year because of his "phenomenal" talent.

Hamilton enjoyed a sensational debut season with McLaren in 2007, going on to finish as runner-up in the championship, just one point behind Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

The so-called driver aids, such as traction control, have been banned from this year, and Prost believes that will only help Hamilton shine more.

"This year electronic aids will disappear so life will get harder for the drivers," Prost was quoted as saying by Autosprint magazine.

"But I'm convinced of one thing: contrary to what could be thought, Hamilton will draw an advantage from this change, and you know why? Because he's phenomenal.

"Last year he did something exceptional, but not so much for his performances, which were fantastic anyway. He was twice exceptional at a psychological level: first in the way he put up with the pressure of his debut, and then for the way he put up with the ever-increasing pressure for a season that went on until the last GP and with all the mess that had happened.

"Can you imagine? A rookie that resisted until the last race before giving up. And after all, let me tell you one thing: before starting winning championships, I lost some too, if you can remember that. But then, when I started..."

The Frenchman warned Hamilton, however, that new teammate Heikki Kovalainen will be hard to overshadow.

He added: "It's hard to make predictions about the drivers, but it's easier with the teams. It will be a fight between Ferrari and McLaren again, that's evident now already. Surprises are unlikely from this point of view.

"As for the drivers everything will be much more uncertain. Hamilton must not be complacent, as Kovalainen will certainly be a very tough cookie. With regards to the championship, the Finn looks definitely dangerous."

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Wow, a former Mclaren driver talking positively about Mclaren and it's drivers, ahem...

I think the ban will help a lot of drivers, Hammy, Kova, Kimi, Webber, Button to name a few, oh and that Spanish bloke, Alonzo or something.

Kova will be hard to overshadow as well.

Edited so that the letters make words.

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Former McLaren driver and former Renault, Ferrari and Williams driver too.

:lol: Really? He drove for other teams, you are really are up on your F1 history if you know that! No, he is a Mclaren man (3 of 4 titles you know), and I know he is just giving Mclaren a bit of good PR because they need it, nothing wrong with it mind.

Or he isn't and he just happens to think that about Hammy and Kova and doesn't want to give/have an opinion on any other drivers...anyhoo, it's all the same to me.

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The lack of TC benefits Scott Speed. Someone told me the more speed you have, the more traction you have. I think that's a good enough explanation.

Anyway, pre-race for Sunday's NASCAR race started on Monday, right after the last NASCAR race, and I wouldn't want to miss our inbred commentators in hot tubs talking bout how them there drivers has got hisselfs some of those there hot rods up there in draft lock.

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Read the whole thing mate! It's from an interview from autosprint..an italian magazine.

Yeah but see George's post. this guy won 3 titles from mclaren, Obviously he is not going to come and say Ferrari will be dominant till Kimi retires, and that mclaren will not be able to catch up. This dialogue is pretty much a recitation, from the PR at Mclaren...

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He quit on bad terms with Dennis after his season with Senna as a team mate. He has raced for Ferrari, so he could say the same things for Kimi. He has raced for Renault, and had HUGE HUGE HUGE backing from Renault in his early days like Hamilton with Macca, so he could have come out and said that about Alonso too.

But he chose Lewis. Why? Because the kid can drive a flippin' car...and drive it flippin' well. How many more former drivers and industry insiders and respected journalists have to make that point before some of you are going to listen and then watch and see for yourself that he is a damn good driver with exceptional talent.

Christ he was 0.3secs or so slower than the Stig in that crappy car at Top Gear, driving it in the wet and Stig was in the dry, plus he can go around that track in his sleep. He bettered Webbers time by SECONDS - plural!! And Webber is considered talented...

Get over your petty jealousies and enjoy watching the man that will go on to beat Prosts and Senna's records, and nibble very closely to Schumacher.

I hated Schumi winning all the time as it was boring - hell, an in-team battle would have helped to make things more interesting - but I still respect him for the skilled and talented driver he was and still is. I don't support him, but I don't go on about his financial backing from MERCEDES as an up and comer, because it doesn't mean a rats fart - talented drivers will get picked up and signed to teams, day in day out. Get the f over it already.

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HandyNZL, we all have our biases, even though he quit on bad terms with Dennis, He still did win thrice with Mclaren. Whatever happens, only a fool will spit on the person that gives him food/fame... So in this case i believe that Prost has just said this as a mouthpiece for Mclaren PR. I do however consider Hammy to be pretty good. I am not too confiident about him setting up the car bby himself but on race skill he is good, but IMO no the best...

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I don't agree that this is McLaren PR....Prost, the Professor, has his own mind, and his own opinions. Just like Jackie Stewart, or are all the comments he made McLaren PR too?

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Re setting up the car....if his and Nando's relationship was so cold post Hungary, then how come Lewis was still able to match and/or better Nando for the rest of the season. Saying he can't set up a car is complete bollocks.

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Spa, Monza, Turkey, China and Brasil is where Hammy showed he's behind Alonso.

So how did Hammy bested Alonso after Hungary when lost his 2 extra points advantage ?!

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He quit on bad terms with Dennis after his season with Senna as a team mate. He has raced for Ferrari, so he could say the same things for Kimi. He has raced for Renault, and had HUGE HUGE HUGE backing from Renault in his early days like Hamilton with Macca, so he could have come out and said that about Alonso too.

But he chose Lewis. Why? Because the kid can drive a flippin' car...and drive it flippin' well. How many more former drivers and industry insiders and respected journalists have to make that point before some of you are going to listen and then watch and see for yourself that he is a damn good driver with exceptional talent.

Christ he was 0.3secs or so slower than the Stig in that crappy car at Top Gear, driving it in the wet and Stig was in the dry, plus he can go around that track in his sleep. He bettered Webbers time by SECONDS - plural!! And Webber is considered talented...

Get over your petty jealousies and enjoy watching the man that will go on to beat Prosts and Senna's records, and nibble very closely to Schumacher.

I hated Schumi winning all the time as it was boring - hell, an in-team battle would have helped to make things more interesting - but I still respect him for the skilled and talented driver he was and still is. I don't support him, but I don't go on about his financial backing from MERCEDES as an up and comer, because it doesn't mean a rats fart - talented drivers will get picked up and signed to teams, day in day out. Get the f over it already.

All very true, and I'm not debating what he says, just why he says it. The bolded part is what suggests a bit of Mclaren bias, he only talks about Lewis and Heikki, no mention of any other drivers who will gain from it, like Kimi, Webber, Button (all of which can also drive a car pretty flippin' well, even when compared to Lewis). 'so he could say the same things for Kimi' - exactly, why doesn't he, because he is giving Mclaren a bit of good PR. No doubt these are his genuine opinions but I don't see why he can't mention any other drivers or teams, or I do see why, if you get me.

Anyway I don't care too much cos' this argument is really crappy and quite unimportant...really can't wait for the season to start :lol:

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I don't agree that this is McLaren PR....Prost, the Professor, has his own mind, and his own opinions. Just like Jackie Stewart, or are all the comments he made McLaren PR too?

Stewart has an unfisnished agenda against Bernie...

Re setting up the car....if his and Nando's relationship was so cold post Hungary, then how come Lewis was still able to match and/or better Nando for the rest of the season. Saying he can't set up a car is complete bollocks.

Dude if a guy leading with 17 points can lose the championship, then i would say he isn't as good as you cliam he is...

Spa, Monza, Turkey, China and Brasil is where Hammy showed he's behind Alonso.

So how did Hammy bested Alonso after Hungary when lost his 2 extra points advantage ?!

Answer this too, while your at it...

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I guess you conveniently leave out of your memories that Lewis was told to stay out on his tyres in China and lost 10 points, and then the car electrics fizzled themselves in Brazil. And to qualify 100ths or 1000ths behind your team mate suggest parity, not dominance of the other.

Y'all shall see this year with a two horse race between Kimi and Lewis. :)

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I guess you conveniently leave out of your memories that Lewis was told to stay out on his tyres in China and lost 10 points, and then the car electrics fizzled themselves in Brazil. And to qualify 100ths or 1000ths behind your team mate suggest parity, not dominance of the other.

Y'all shall see this year with a two horse race between Kimi and Lewis. :)

So he has no mind to say that his tyres are wearing out fast and that he needs to pit??

Car electrics fizzled??? where did you hear that from? From what i have read he pushed the wrong button, i don't blame him for thaat, as mistakes happen, but China was IMO his fault...and i never said Alonso was dominant or Lewis was dominant, where di that come from??

We shall surely see the season, as for the horse, it will only be a prancing one to victory... :)

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So he has no mind to say that his tyres are wearing out fast and that he needs to pit??

Car electrics fizzled??? where did you hear that from? From what i have read he pushed the wrong button, i don't blame him for thaat, as mistakes happen, but China was IMO his fault...and i never said Alonso was dominant or Lewis was dominant, where di that come from??

We shall surely see the season, as for the horse, it will only be a prancing one to victory... :)

Yup, even as a Kimi fan I'd be willing to say that Lewis lost the championship more than Kimi won it, if that makes sense.

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So he has no mind to say that his tyres are wearing out fast and that he needs to pit??

Car electrics fizzled??? where did you hear that from? From what i have read he pushed the wrong button, i don't blame him for thaat, as mistakes happen, but China was IMO his fault...and i never said Alonso was dominant or Lewis was dominant, where di that come from??

We shall surely see the season, as for the horse, it will only be a prancing one to victory... :)

Well, many more experienced drivers than Lewis have been told to stay out on tyres and paid the price. It doesn't seem logical to us, for as you quite rightly say, you would think the driver would say something. Yet, it has happened quite a few times, even in recent years.

The push button was just 1 of the rumours circulating, though denied by all involved. We will probably never know the truth for a while, if he did push the button wrong button, though it does seem slightly unlikely that it would be quite so easy to do, though not impossible.

Yup, even as a Kimi fan I'd be willing to say that Lewis lost the championship more than Kimi won it, if that makes sense.

Well, yeah, you could say that. You could also say that Kimi finished strongly. There is a saying in footy, when a team scores a late winner, that the game lasts for 90mins not 80 or 85 mins, the same is true of F1 in that you race to the last flag.

You could also wonder why a rookie, of whatever talent, was able to get 17pts clear too :whistling::lol:

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No fan of Prost but you've got to agree with what he is saying.

No traction control should benefit the less experienced and smoother drivers. Hamilton falls into at least one of those categories.

Wouldn't it also benefit the more experianced drivers like Fisi??

Yup, even as a Kimi fan I'd be willing to say that Lewis lost the championship more than Kimi won it, if that makes sense.

I agree.

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You win some, you lose some, no matter what your talent is. Took Kimi long enough to win a title, Lewis came quite close, Freddy didn't take too long to win one, JV did it in his 2nd year (and only just), so although the plaudits went to Kimi for 07, this is another year, and considering Lewis got so close in year one, where will he be in six or so as Kimi is now?

A 1 point win is a win, but it wasn't domination, nor reason to claim that the 2nd or 3rd place finishers were no good either...and frankly without a team set up as it was around Michael, we're not going to see championships decided by +30pts for a long time to come.

Put any 4 of these drivers in the top two teams, and you could have a 4-way run for the title, so for any number of years to come until they retire / get killed or injured, the points should stay relatively close. The drivers being: Kimi, Lewis, Nando, Vettel, Heikki, Rosberg, Massa. All of these drivers will be on Macca / Ferrari wish list from here on out.

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