Yeah, he should have let him go in hindsight, but it's something I've always done in sim leagues. In a VaderTrophy league race I once fought off a driver who was 1.5 seconds a lap quicker a lap in a car with a 15mph straight line speed advantage (Eagle vs my Brabham in GPL) by braking stupidly late into the 2 overtaking places in a lap (1967 Snetterton). It was probably the single-most high of an achievement I've had in GPL, or certainly up there. The sense of defeating what feels like the impossible is something else, and I don't think the buzz you get from it can't be replicated in anything but racing.
Those emotions obviously translate to real racing as much as sim racing, so I've sympathy for Hamilton for attempting to do the impossible. He didn't fight tooth and nail for it, banging wheels Villeneuve-Arnoux style, or Massa-Kubica style, but he made it difficult and ensured Maldonado had to come up with a cracking move to get by... sadly, this is Maldonado, and the cracking was Hamilton's suspension.
Like I said, in hindsight it was a mistake to put his car in the position he did, and I think some of his frustration was directed towards himself for that, but he's a racer, and in the heat of the moment, the race matters more than the championship. He'll be remembered that way when he retires, and I think among the real racing fans, that counts more for reputation than having been a double world champion... look at how much most of us look back at the championship-less Gilles Villeneuve, and most of us didn't even see him race.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/25/2012 08:54PM by gav.