First of all, let me get this out of the way: I have tons of respect for Lewis Hamilton. He’s one hell of a driver, easily one of the best of all time. His story of rags-to-riches is the perfect example of how perseverance can get you anywhere. With that said, I don’t like him. See, here’s the thing; racing is boring nowadays. Passing is hard to come by and rarely do races have you gripping the edge of your seat.

Let’s be Honest, Racing is Pretty Dull Now

There’s a reason younger and newer fans love people like Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo; they’re interesting. Daniel is easily the funniest personality in racing today, and Max can put on one hell of a show (even though it doesn’t always end well). Then there’s Kimi Raikonnen, who make you watch more for the post-race interviews than the actual race. Lewis is a different kind of driver. He’s an institution.

You know those huge companies like WalMart, who are so much better than their competition that it’s almost not a competition at all. While there is a good bit more competition and action this season, Lewis seems a bit unhappy with that. This is exemplified by his radio message when Verstappen attempted a rather aggressive move on him in Bahrain. “No Respect”, he said. That begs the question, what does he think respect in racing is? Because it certainly isn’t just sitting back and letting the big boys win. Verstappen is an underdog, so are Red Bull, and the kid is a bit too aggressive sometimes (his ill-advised dive on Vettel in China, for example), but that makes racing exciting. Nobody want to watch the same team win the same races over and over again. We want to see new talent take down the old champions, David defeat Goliath, and back-marker teams take podiums away from the institutions.

Then there’s Lewis’s tendency to stop pushing once he’s got a championship. In all four of his championship seasons, he’s never won a race after the championship was decided. To be fair, that’s a perfectly reasonable thing to do. After all, why overexert yourself after you’ve gotten the result you wanted? The only problem? It’s boring.

What’s more annoying about Lewis is that he’s never been in a back-marker team. While he certainly struggled during his youth to get to where he is now, he hasn’t struggled since. When he drove for McLaren, they were in their modern-era prime. It’s also pretty clear how Dominant the Mercedes car has been. It seems he’s so used to winning that he thinks it’s deserved, more so than other drivers.

It’s A Competition, Lewis.

Respect in competition is not about letting the major players win, it’s about fighting to get your own while acknowledging your opponents strengths and stature. Yes, Lewis Hamilton is one of the greatest of all time, one of the most successful, and his name will live among legends for the rest of time, but that does not mean he can’t be defeated. Michael Schumacher lost championships. So did Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, and all of the other greats. To suggest someone lacks respect because they try daring passes is preposterous.

But let me reiterate, I DO respect him. He’s an icon, and what he’s done in and for F1 is unmatched. I just don’t like the guy.