A Story You May Have Missed
Lewis Hamilton:
'There
Is A Conspiracy Against Me!'
Lewis
Hamilton is undoubtedly one of the greatest drivers of this century.
Nobody
doubts his skills nor his temperament. He 'lost it', however, after
the recent Malaysia Grand Prix in Sepang when he openly accused
'person or persons unknown' of 'sabotaging' his car. His view is
that 'someone or somebody does not want me to win'.
I
have covered this matter previously but feel that it must be
seriously addressed by those who profit from car racing tournaments
(Grand Prixs) worldwide.
As
I said previously, whether it be on land, sea or in the air, there is
an obsessive craving for pushing the limits in terms of speed and
human endurance. Cars, boats and aeroplanes new technologies and
appliances are all being pushed and( metaphorically speaking) pulled
(in terms of metals, carbon fibre and nanofibre technologies) just up
to and beyond the limits of what is known about the effects on
performance, distance and human endurance.
In
my opinion, this is disgraceful and akin to laboratory ('lab') rats
being used for experimentation. The organisers and sponsors would
argue that such personalities (and this is what Hamilton and his
fellow drivers in the top leagues are. They are not drivers, but
icons in the car racing world, sports star personalities with
world-wide followings – and revenues in the billions of dollars in
sales, rolyaties and sponsorships across the planet.)
But
is it right to 'sacrifice' them in the 'arena' [Colosseum (!)] simply
to provide the 'audience' with more 'kicks' (?); a crash or 'near
death' will, most certainly 'heighten' awareness amongst the world
populace and 'add' (or attract) even more 'glamour' and interest in
the next race (or 'episode') in
the 'saga'.
There
are more practical ways (virtual reality simulations for example) in
this day and age of reducing the risks on the open circuit to iconic
personalities - such as Rosberg and Hamilton.
There
is indeed, in my opinion, a 'conspiracy', it's nothing to do with
Hamilton per ipse, but an obsession by the owners and investors
with speed, performance and endurance - which is literally driving
design and components (in a number of different areas-including
airplane design, components and structure or form) to the brink of
catastrophic failure.
Why
is it that manufacturers and owners always wait until a tragedy
happens before making (or being compelled to by law to make) changes
in design in order to improve on safety for users or passengers?
It
is not easy for stars simply to up and walk away on principle.
We
all know how Hamilton's dear parents, of modest income, sacrificed so
much for him, as a child, so that he would have the opportunities to
be where he is today. How can you just give it all up and walk away
when so many people throughout your life have 'invested' so much of
their own lives and time (and resources) in your success? It's not
an easy call, for anyone.
My
hope is that the industry itself is the first one to make the call –
and becomes a role model by voluntarily setting standards for other
professions and industries to emulate - before any tragedy and
heart-searching is necessary in the aftermath.
©Patrick
Emek, 2016
Intermezzo
And now for a lighter moment
(of
sorts.....................!)
................end of Intermezzo.........
.............................
Now back to the really serious reality stuff (!)
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