It's Tuesday, it must be Amsterdam

It's exhausting enough just following Lewis around in cars, boats and planes in one country after another, let alone being Lewis himself. Today it was Tuesday so we were in Amsterdam where Lewis was unveiled as the new sporting ambassador by the clothing and footwear company Reebok.

These companies love to climb on board a success story and I am sure they mean well with people like Lewis. But it is a bit much watching and listening to them telling us how important they suddenly are to a young man who got to where he is today without any help from Reebok.

In Amsterdam it was a beautiful day and we got the odd glimpse of a canal and a windmill on our way to the launch venue which was staged in a dreary convention centre with no views - we could have been in Bombay. Anyway Reebok stunned us all briefly by first introducing a talking, walking, apparently living Lewis which turned out to be a hologram. We discovered that was the case only when the real Lewis walked onto the stage and stood beside it. I must admit it was very effective.

There then followed a long scripted interview of Lewis with a presenter on stage and then some questions from the floor. The bottom line here is as follows: Reebok are paying him £10 million over five years and require him to work for them for 10 days each year. Together with his McLaren earnings, this deal increases his take-home pay over the next five years to just under £90 million and probably quite a bit more.

Lewis is a very busy young man. This deal makes him busier and richer. Does he really need this extra money? One wonders what the real price he is going to pay for earning it is going to be.

Comments

[Timothy Cooper Duckworth]

Ed, Why don't you focus on the reason there is not going to be a USGP next year with the same tenacity that you covered the Mosley affair? I am sure you can find out the amount of money that stands between Bernie and Tony in getting that deal done as well as raising the issue to the sponsors and manufaturers that say that they want a U.S. race.

[bushworstpresidentever]

So Lewis is going to be getting the equivalent of US$400,000 for each of those 50 days? Not a bad day's pay, and I am sure he will not be working 9 to 5 for it either, and that if there is any travel involved, the private jet and limo (at Reebok's expense, of course) will be provided.

[Jordi]

I read in a Spanish news paper that Jackie Stewart said that it would be good for F1 drives to have a personal professional manager/trainer, just like in most sports.

He mentions Hamilton last "accidents", saying that if he had a good manager/trainer, he would have a calm influence, helping him with the strategy and discipline. Apparently Jackie Steward also said that Hamilton is 10 points behind Massa because he always drives to the limit, instead of managing his talent to finish and take the points.

Apparently, Hamilton answered by saying “The only person that I take advice from is my dad"

Ed, did you hear about this?

http://www.as.com/motor/articulo/automovilismo-pilotos-deberian-tener-entrenadores/dasmot/20080701dasdasmot_2/Tes

[Jordi]

you can read Jackie Stewart interview here: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/68770

I would like to know, is he having a go to Ron Dennis, daddy or both?

[f1extremist - f1 news and blog]

It's money drivers need to make as early as they can, not so much for lewis who's got a 5 year deal with mclaren, a top team, but for drivers a bit down the order who have 1-2 year contracts, it's so easy to lose a drive, or a whole team, spyker folded, minardi folded, arrows folded, super aguri folded, and next years killing off of the customer cars is going to strain other teams more, or even result in them folding too.

They need to make the sponsor cash while they can cause there's only a few levels of motor racing that has good paying sponsors, the rest is just so expensive to compete in that all the cash goes into the cars.

[Felipe]

Ed, do other drivers have the same deals as Hamilton and do they have to travel days before a Grand Prix event to promote their product?

The articles says that Hamilton should be focusing on the race, which I agree with, but maybe it's common with top F1 drivers, it's just that no one is following them as closely as you are following Hamilton.

What is your relationship like with Hamilton? You seem to be shadowing him around the globe.

[Nick Caulfield]

The daft thing is, I cannot think of a single product I have bought as a result of a sporting endorsement. If I bought sports shoes from Reebok, I would have tried several brands in the shop and bought the ones which appeared best fit for purpose. Who do they think is fooled by this nonsense?

[Steve]

I think Lewis has to come to a decision; does he want to be a world celebrity, or the world champion? The distractions of doing the publicy round may well be detrimental to his racing, and if his performance suffers he will become less and less atractive to the publicity people. On the other hand if he concentrates on his racing he will become world campion (though perhaps not this year).
At the moment he is at a crucial point in the season, and a couple more errors will destroy his chances for this year. He needs to spend more time with his team and mechanics, living the life of a F1 driver, not gadding about on publicity stunts.

[Anon]

More money, more sponsorships, this won't do him any good. It's icredible how everybody is scared he turns into a Beckham full of money and empty of ambition. But he'll bounce back as he always does, except every time he bounces back up, it's a little less high like the previous time...

Anyway, I wonder how other drivers fare during their free-time.

Lewis probably is the most open driver out of all of them, but do you think you could get a weekend with another driver?

[KoJ Finland]

The facts are that there has never been a driver of the marketing magnitude that Lewis Hamilton presents to his and his teams sponsors.
Being the first black driver in F1 together with unequalled first season and his story of how he is where he is. I say good luck to him he can only be good for F1 and if/when he does become the champion he'll be worth loads more.
England should feel proud as you have two of the most famous sports stars in the world with Beckham and now Hamilton which other sporting stars are at that level in other countries?
I suggest Tiger Woods is but cannot readily think of any others that go way beyond the sport their famous for and why the British press put a downer on it I don't know, the Americans are really proud of Tiger Woods and so they should be.
Kimi, Alonso, Kubica or any other F1 driver comes does not come close in therms of global reach. I read that Hamilton could earn over a billion dollars in his career if not more, good on him I say (I wonder if he could lend me a little, maybe he could sponsor a Grand Prix in Finland)?

[Aaron James]

Anyone can overload themselves and still operate at a high level. As a graduate I worked 70-80hr weeks. I maintained this sort of work intensity for about 12-14 months before it started to take its toll.

It's gradual, but no one, no matter how young, can continue to burn both ends of the wick indefinitely.

Lewis will cope in the short term with all this, but as the media pressure starts to build and the multitude of sponsors he's taking money from start demanding success as well as his time it's going to get tough.

Personally speaking if I were making close to 100M I'd be inclined to spend 10M for 10 days holiday.

I think Lewis, in time, will probably learn the same thing. I just hope he doesn't burn out completely and lose his passion for the sport before having that epiphany.

[paul smith]

Jordi..
I just read that article, and it looks like your comments above are nicely slanted to sound like Lewis has listened to Jackie Stewart and then said "well, i only listen to my dad, not you". If you read the article again, you'll notice that it is two quotes taken from two people in isolation.

I'm sure if Lewis did hear what Jackie Stewart had to say and was asked about it, he would have taken the advice.

Leave him alone and think some more about how Alonso treats people he works with, he's the one with the massive head.

[Marilyn]

Maybe, Lewis does not need anymore money. But he should earn as much as he can while the going is good.
Who knows what the future holds for him. He seems to enjoy the life out side of F1, so maybe he won't be in F1 for years and years. Good luck to him.

[LUCAS]

@Jordi

"Jackie Stewart said that it would be good for F1 drives to have a personal professional manager/trainer, just like in most sports"

I think Jack Stewart is looking for a job :)

I get the impression that a driver has too many coaches already, such as engineers, physical trainers, etc...

[f1extremist]

I think most of the comments here suffer from reading too much British news.

On my way through singapore this week i picked up a magazine I've never heard of with Kimi on the cover, 5 page interview and other magazines plastered with kimi and his tag huer watch branding.

lewis is getting face time in the uk media, and every other driver gets their face time in their countries and others just like he does. Massa in 2004 kept a 'Credit Suisse' race diary as a part of a sponsor deal...

i would not say he does any more than any other driver, i would think the lower down drivers do more, only difference is that most of the big f1 media is based in the UK, and lewis is their fanboy.

The only reason you might see more of lewis is because he has a very bad manager who doesn't know how to manage a star or negotiate big deals which leads to being put into stupid vodafone shows.

[Weasel]

Well Ed, would you turn down that kind of money for 10 days of appearances per year? Or is The Times is paying you more than that?

But the hologram Lewis does bring up a thought - maybe it's the hologram Lewis that's driving and making all those mistakes this year?

[Formula 1 fan]

Paul Smith, please be serious and we are speaking about LH not FA. FA is very good with the workers, he help then in everything he can, for that he improve the cars, he is not insulting them, he just try to wake up them and try to make that they work as hard as he do. To be more respect with a doublechampion like him, without unfair play and doing very good.

LH insult to people that make mistakes like several times this year, hit the camera several times when he crashed into Kimi, he don’t stop to isult or speak too much about his team mate or anyone else that make something. He is a unfair player and he complaint and lie for everything. He is a embarrassing sport man. He is trying to be the new Beckham, but he is not going to be never, because Beckham is a gentleman, very cute and nice. LH is arrogant, spoiled child,…like Victoria Beckham. He won't be the dearest, he will be always in magazines, but nobody cares about him in some years. He is not good for F1 and for press. He is crashing anything he drives. Something horrible, not just his detestable behaviour and lack of respect, to write a book before to win anything.

Ah! he don't need more money he need to be more respetable person.

[David in Digital Land]

In a class A car, a class A driver becomes an international property. Saleable, marketable, a clothes horse, an endorser of product. Put yourself in the shoes of a company with sales targets to meet and a budget for marketing and advertising. Who you gonna call? It's a tough call. However, for those fortunate enough to be at the top of their chosen profession there is the opportunity to maximise their fiscal take while they can. I just hope Lewis stayed out of those Amsterdam coffee shops otherwise who knows what gaff he'll make next time he's behind the wheel for real.

[Jordi]

@ paul smith
You are right, in my first post I'm refering to an article from "AS" a spanish news paper, were they make it look like Hamilton was asked about Jackie Stewart comments, if you can read spanish you will realize that i just translated what the paper said. Then I read the autosport article and I realize that they were two separate comments, and I posted the link to autosport article.

Still, it is quite clear to me that Jackie Stewart is having a go at Ron Dennis and LH dad.

[B Cave]

To Koj, you've hit the nail on the head. The sniping, the bitching, the criticism. It's a bit obvious no other F1 driver has the appeal of Lewis at the moment, because he's good looking, successful very quickly, personable, fantastic with his fans (I was at Brooklands on Saturday and know that for a fact), and he's a lovely guy. That's why he's in demand. We'll see how it affects his driving - I remember he had a load of celebs at Monaco supporting him and he drove pretty well. I am amazed at his energy gadding about all over the globe, but I love reading about him so it's great. Would anybody really want any of the other boring F1 guys fronting their brands? I think not. You go Lewis - you only live once and you're young and gorgeous so why not?

[B Cave]

F1 Extremist, his manager doesn't know how to negotiate big deals? Are you living on the Planet Earth?

[Felipe]

B Cave, you make me laugh... you should maybe change your name to BCAVELONGLIVEENGLAND, and even though I don't detect irony in your comments... they still make me laugh.

[stephen stepney]

Ah bless him,the world of fame,celebs,money,and yet more money,next thing you will hear is Hamilton Rap promotions,if there is one area this fella needs advice from,it should be his father,they both wallow in the glory of winning,which is fair enough,they also need to accept critiscm when aired,his ego will be his nemesis,still he,ll make his millions knowing he was the Tim Hennman of F1,long live Alonso!

[stephen stepney]

I,m sorry,i,ve just re read my last post,i said Hamiltons advice should be from his dad,what i mean,t was NOT from his dad,he is to close,and who would wish to criticise a son in full view of the public arena,you would,nt,i think he does need a person outside of this who will give him sound ,and honest advice,he is only 23 years of age,and very fortunate,its that which he has to embrace,and not to get pumped up with gusto,or ego,or both,show what you can do,smile,acknowledge,get on with it,you are not a celebrity,you are a racing driver foremost,remember who you are,where you are,the rest will follow.

[B Cave]

Felipe, thanks but I'm not in the least patriotic. In fact, as I've said before on here, I'm anti-patriotic and anti-nationalistic. I just love Lewis.

[Jamie Stanley]

LEAVE LEWIS HAMILTON ALONE LIKE BECKHAM GIVES US SOME HOPE FOR THIS BROKEN COUNTRY SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN A CHANCE TO MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN IN OUR DULL LIVES ID LOVE TO MEET LEWIS SPEND THE DAY WITH HIM HES LIVING THE DREAM AND WHY NOT. LEWIS IS AWSOME LIKE MC CLAREN STRONG AND WELL ENGINEERED NEVER GIVE UP LEWIS YOU INSPIRE ME THANK YOU AND GOOD LUCK.

[qed]

With 20-something GPs under his belt, and a series of stupid errors and collisions, Lewis Hamilton must be the most egregiously overpaid sportsman on this planet.

[Rob]

Regarding the Paul Smith and Jordi comments;

Jordi picks up on a good point in his post saying how it was the Spanish newspaper AS who made it sound like Lewis was answering Sir Jackie's comments.
I live in Madrid, and love Spain before anyone calls me biased or w.e I was firmly in the "Podemos" camp for the Euros and I have a strong penchant for Real Madrid, and Nadal too :). However living here I have noticed that the reporting from the media is very slanted and worse, it is often very amateur and ill-informed when it comes to specialist sports such as F1. Today in the car an interview with Alonso, who was talking about his mechanics' aims to boost the horse power in his engine, was wrapped up by the radio host with "they don't know what they're doing" referring to the Renault mechanics. This I found laughable. It's natural that people support their home-grown superstars and the Spanish have a right to be proud of Alonso, a deserving double world champion who toppled the mighty Schumacher let's not forget! The problem is many casual F1 fans only read these poor reports from the likes of Marca and become aggressive in their support, and aggressive in their lack of support for the opposition. I blame the media, both UK and Spanish for the events of last year between LH and FA. Alonso as we all know is someone who thrives in a supportive atmosphere where he feels at home and number 1; Mclaren is not that kind of place: Ron is a control freak who runs a very clinical and cold operation, add that to Lewis being their prodigy who had been with them since he was 12, there was always going to be tension. However when you tuned into Spanish TV or Radio and heard the commentators discussing the options Mclaren had to further ruin Alonso's season (i kid you not i heard a radio presenter ask the other "so what can mclaren do now do you think to make sure Alonso underperforms?") or when ITV couldn't stop their Hamilton-porn coverage of races,tensions became harsh between sets of fans and that really is not what the sport is about.. shame really. As a young F1 fan, i'm 18 but have been watching a good 12-14years with my father, I see these as desperate times for F1, it's getting bigger than ever before but with that size comes casual followers and coverage in the non-specialised press, and ED, you've been as guilty as the rest of them and i think some of the good comments by spaniards on this blog have set you straight a bit. Real F1 fans need to make sure we don't get caught up in all the nonsense and just concetrate on what could be a truly historical season with a 4 way battle between some of the most exciting drivers F1 has had for some time!

[JoseBelgica]

Ed:
Have you took into consideration to change the name of this blog from "F1 BLOG" to "Lewis Hamilton Fan Blog"?
No offense whatsoever but .. do you get paid somehow ?

Cheers!!

[Jordi]

Jamie Stanley
you forgot to thank the Queen!

[Carleton Twitchell]

Good for him...as long as it doesnt make him SLOWER!!!!!To put it all into F1 historical context I read that Nigel Mansell remortgaged his house not once but twice and went out cleaning windows 7 days a week to finance his early racing days ...a sheer miracle he ever got to be World Champion .."El Leone "!He got their because he was hungry for victory and hungry for the Good Life that victory gave him. Being a Brummie didnt hold him back neither!
So just remember ...Lewis's $180 mill ( sorry no pounds on this keyboard !)wont get him the World Championship ..it'll,if anything, make him less hungry for it .
All the more for performance-related pay what? Not Max tho..

[CHIUNDA]

"Who do they think is fooled by this nonsense?" - Nick i think Nike made lots of money because of Michael Jordan and in fact those endorsements took it ahead of Adidas.

[Stephen Desmond]

God knows why on earth every one is going mad over Hamilton, i mean sure, he is good, but he is no Michael Schumacher. What a ridiculous notion that sporting people are paid so much whereas doctors and the emergency services are paid so much less, a disgrace to every human principle.

[Felipe]

B Cave, I meant your love for Hamilton reminds me of Javier's love of Alonso. Wasn't trying to say anything else, sorry you misunderstood.

Rob, great comment, I totally agree. But don't forget that most people that read and write here are a bit different, they are obviously looking for a different opinion. I read Marca and As everyday, but know that it's mostly rubbish, same as when I pick up a free copy of the sun on the tube, I know it's mostly rubbish.

[joe]

No one, Lewis Hamilton.. David Beckam, Tiger Woods..Ronaldo should ever be paid this kind of money. When children are dying for the sake of 50 pence a day it is disgraceful in this day and age.
Is he really 1000 times better than someone else..I don,t think so!
Is he our new black hero, no-one mentions his white mother only his over ambitious father