Lewis Hamilton will be the youngest and least experienced of
four Britons on the Formula One starting grid this season but the
most likely to win.
So says Damon Hill, Britain's last world champion with Williams
in 1996 and now president of the British Racing Drivers' Club.
"Lewis is almost certainly going to win a grand prix this year,"
he told reporters at a Silverstone 'Back the Brits' briefing on
Tuesday ahead of the Australian season-opener on March 18.
"There's a pattern that develops in grand prix racing and after
a few years you recognise it and I think it has to be Lewis
Hamilton at the moment who fits that template," he added when asked
who was the most likely of the quartet to follow in his
footsteps.
"But I know Jenson (Button) is not going to take that lying
down."
Hamilton, 22, will be making his first grand prix appearance in
Melbourne as teammate to double champion Fernando Alonso at
McLaren.
Variously described as Formula One's first black or
Anglo-Caribbean driver, his debut is probably the most
eagerly-awaited of any in recent years.
Honda's Button, 27, took his first win last season in Hungary
after 113 starts without success but his team have been off the
pace in testing.
Red Bull's David Coulthard, now the oldest driver on the grid at
the age of 35, won 13 races with Williams and McLaren but his
chances of adding to that tally look increasingly remote.
Briton Anthony Davidson, 27, is embarking on his first full
season with last year's tail-enders Super Aguri after failing to
finish his three previous race starts with now-defunct Minardi and
Honda in 2002 and 2005.
Right place
No other country has more drivers, although Germany also has
four, and Britain has not had so many at a season's start since
2002 when Coulthard and Button were joined by Allan McNish and
Eddie Irvine.
But it is Hamilton, impressive winner of the GP2 support series
last year and a long-term McLaren protege who has been successful
at every level so far, who is really getting the fans excited.
He has been on the pace from day one and is well-groomed by team
boss Ron Dennis to handle the intense media pressure he faces in
Australia.
"Jenson we know can win grands prix now and Honda are always
knocking on the door," said Hill.
"But I think Lewis is in the right team at the right place at
the right time. His only obstacle may be the two Ferraris and his
teammate.
"I watched him in the GP2 race (at Silverstone) last year and
you would certainly be daft to discount him as a grand prix
winner."
McLaren, without a win last year for the first time in a decade,
and Ferrari have been the big guns in the 'phoney war' before the
first race and are expected to be the main contenders in the title
battle.
Hamilton is unlikely to win any straight fight with his teammate
but there could well be occasions where the Spaniard is sidelined
and the youngster can take advantage.
Honda gloom
Button, ecstatic last August to have secured his breakthrough
win at last, had high hopes before Honda's new car hit the track
but they have been thoroughly dampened by the testing times.
"It may well be a case that we look back at Jenson's career and
say it was screwed up at the beginning because of being wrongly
advised or with the wrong team," said Hill.
Honda's senior technical director Shuhei Nakamoto was quoted by
the Autosport website (www.autosport.com) this week as saying they
were already planning a big upgrade for the second round of the
season in Malaysia.
"At the moment we are ahead of Red Bull and Toyota but behind
the rest," he said. "It will be a massive struggle to get into Q3
(the third session of qualifying)."
If Honda appear to be struggling, then so too do Coulthard's Red
Bull with championship-winning designer Adrian Newey's first car
for the team failing to produce instant magic.
Davidson's Super Aguri failed to score a point last season and
their new car, although yet to be unveiled, is already contentious
with rivals muttering about it resembling too closely the Honda
that Button drove to victory in Hungary.
"We know we won't have the fastest car out there but it should
be a bit of an improvement," Davidson told reporters in London last
week.
"Hopefully we'll be in a position where we might be able to
score a point or two. That would be fantastic for everybody and
that's really got to be the ultimate goal."
(China Daily via Agencies?March 8, 2007)