Quote Originally Posted by Knock-on
Didn't you meet Lewis at a BTCC meet? Thought you were there one weekend with me when I spoke with him during the Renault days. He had just smoked the field and was awash with pure emotion and happiness. He lived for the racing and although a very driven young man, I never thought of him then or since as arrogant or as some on here choose to consider him. Focused, yes. I don't claim to know him in any way apart from a few brief meetings but he has always struck me as quite a nice guy as does Nic.
I'm not sure I ever met him, or at least not for long, I think we may have crossed paths at Donington in his F Renault days, and that year he was a class apart. You are right, then his demeanour was different, a young man (kid) enjoying racing, knowing that if he turned up and did his best he'd probably win. I think the realities of F1 ahve soured that pureness of racing for him in the last couple of years and I maintain that his off track decisions have added to that. He can no longer turn up and know he can win, he needs the car to be capable, he needs to get the whole weekend right and he needs to outrace a couple of equally capable drivers. When he gets it right you see that same kid, when its not perfect his head drops very quickly. Thats not to say he's trying any less hard or racing worse, but we can see his pain. Maybe thats a good thing, people like to see what is going on, but I think it adds to the pressure on him and can take him to a place like last year where his mental state affects his performances. I want to see that 2007 or even better th e F renault Lewis back, racing just beacuse