THE_LIBERATOR
6th December 2006, 14:51
Murray learns nothing from the last 20 British F1 drivers he has jinxed!!
http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=38058
Former ITV Sport commentator Murray Walker believes McLaren protégé Lewis Hamilton can be the star driver that British fans have been waiting for in Formula 1.
The 21-year-old was handed the second seat at the Woking-based squad for 2007 last month and will make his debut in the sport in Melbourne in March, following his staggering rise through the junior motorsport ranks.
Although Jenson Button broke the nation's three-year winless streak in the sport in 2006, it is a decade since a British driver – Damon Hill - last won the drivers’ world championship and legendary commentator Walker says the nation needs a new hero.
“We are desperately hungry for success,” he told this week’s Motorsport News newspaper.
“It is more than ten years since we had somebody like Damon Hill or Nigel Mansell to cheer on – and we need another one.”
The confirmation that Hamilton would partner Fernando Alonso at McLaren ended months of speculation over whether team boss Ron Dennis would decide to hand the young star the race seat alongside the double world champion or let him spend a year testing first.
Walker is confident Dennis has made the right decision in promoting the Briton straight from the GP2 feeder series into a top-line F1 seat and believes he is ready for the challenge.
“I think Ron Dennis has done exactly the right thing,” he said.
“Lewis has won a championship in very category he’s contested, so there is absolutely no reason why he shouldn’t to extremely well in F1, particularly given the advantages of being a McLaren works driver.
“He’s got his head screwed on.
“His problem won’t be driving the car, but not being put off by the adulation, the media attention and the hopes that Britain is going to pin on.”
http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=38058
Former ITV Sport commentator Murray Walker believes McLaren protégé Lewis Hamilton can be the star driver that British fans have been waiting for in Formula 1.
The 21-year-old was handed the second seat at the Woking-based squad for 2007 last month and will make his debut in the sport in Melbourne in March, following his staggering rise through the junior motorsport ranks.
Although Jenson Button broke the nation's three-year winless streak in the sport in 2006, it is a decade since a British driver – Damon Hill - last won the drivers’ world championship and legendary commentator Walker says the nation needs a new hero.
“We are desperately hungry for success,” he told this week’s Motorsport News newspaper.
“It is more than ten years since we had somebody like Damon Hill or Nigel Mansell to cheer on – and we need another one.”
The confirmation that Hamilton would partner Fernando Alonso at McLaren ended months of speculation over whether team boss Ron Dennis would decide to hand the young star the race seat alongside the double world champion or let him spend a year testing first.
Walker is confident Dennis has made the right decision in promoting the Briton straight from the GP2 feeder series into a top-line F1 seat and believes he is ready for the challenge.
“I think Ron Dennis has done exactly the right thing,” he said.
“Lewis has won a championship in very category he’s contested, so there is absolutely no reason why he shouldn’t to extremely well in F1, particularly given the advantages of being a McLaren works driver.
“He’s got his head screwed on.
“His problem won’t be driving the car, but not being put off by the adulation, the media attention and the hopes that Britain is going to pin on.”