I have argued many times before that the dad-as-manager scenario is not a good idea for Lewis Hamilton.I suspect his father, Anthony Hamilton, would have a different opinion but if he were looking to what is best for Lewis, perhaps he would see what so many of us on the outside see—Lewis needs a proper manager.
While anyone would want to protect their child and share in his success; is this the best thing for Lewis? While many may have strong opinions about Ed Gorman at the Times; I consider myself quite pleased to be in such company of equal opinion. Here’s to you Ed; I’ve been saying this longer than you have mate but then again, you’re a professional and know when to bite your tongue—Just taking the P&*# out of you mate.
Ed dives deeper into the story and opinion than I did. Much to Ed’s credit, he not only criticizes the situation but, in a moment of sheer humility, he offers Lewis a solution. An example so to speak. Michael Schumacher knew the dangers of team sponsor antics such as the one in turkey and hired Sabine Khem. Sabine would never have let Michael fly on wires over a crowd of befuddled Turks while portraying a god who happens to be a race driver with a Reebok endorsement freshly signed back in the motorhome. She knew better. So did Michael. Anthony Hamilton does not. Matt Bishop does but he is representing the team’s PR efforts and they are going to be in lock-step with the sponsors so while I can’t imagine Matt Bishop thinking this was the greatest idea; I also can’t imagine him scuttling the moment lest he aggravate Vodafone.
In short, Anthony Hamilton has bit off more than he can chew, in my opinion, and should politely get out of the way of his sons career. He keeps this stuff up and continues to fail to manage Lewis’s tongue; he and his son won’t have a career to orchestrate. Anthony—listen to Ed Gorman. Whether you love him or hate him; he’s right on this one mate.
