Diamond Geeza

When I grew up I didn`t have a manager. I was born into a family like normal people with a mother and father and a sister and we sort of got along ok, we spent time together and enjoyed each other`s company. I learnt about life from them and they learnt bits from me. When I flew the nest and started living away from home I learnt more from friends, girlfriends and colleagues and many of life`s experiences along the way. I have survived, I am fairly normal.

Lewis Hamilton grew up and he had a manager, and he was his father. From the age of 10 he also had a boss, in the form of Ron Dennis, who sort of managed him too. He learnt from them, and he learnt from living a life embedded in motorsport.

Why any human feels that they need to be managed by another human I have no idea? Lewis is his own man, he can make his own decisions, and he should go down whichever path he chooses, like all other people fortunate enough to make their own choices in life. He doesn`t need a manager.

But he does need a Dad.

When I was about 13, my father sat me down and said in no uncertain terms `If you ever come into this house with an earring or a tattoo it will be the last time you come into this house` he was right. He didn`t want his teenage son exposed to what he believed to be vulgar body art and jewellery.

So as Lewis arrived at the Turkish GP with both ears pierced you have to wonder if the split with his father is starting to mould Lewis. Don`t get me wrong. I couldn`t care less if Lewis has his ears pierced, or if he has a tattoo. I don`t care what he wears or what he says. But he is employed by McLaren. A team with responsibilities and partners and sponsors and a worldwide media following. Not only does Lewis`s appearance influence his personal value, but also the value of him as an asset of McLaren and their sponsors.

I`m very surprised that he is happy to have his ears pierced in Los Angeles, arrive at the next F1 race a week later, stick a helmet on and go racing.
Surely this is painful, or in the least uncomfortable. The other issue here is that all jewellery worn by F1 drivers is banned by the governing body for safety reasons, but this seems to have been ignored in Lewis`s case.

What amazes me even more than this is that the teams are happy for their drivers to wear jewellery. When teams are spending millions to reduce the weight of the car. Shaving millimetres off bodywork, using low weight titanium parts and super alloys to save every milligramme of weight.
Why then are the drivers allowed to jump in the car with their earrings, bracelets and watches?

I`ll tell you why. Money. Money has more influence than any engineer at McLaren.
Every driver has a watch sponsor. And McLaren has a diamond sponsor. I bet that those small black studs in Lewis`s ears will suddenly turn into enormous diamonds when Steinmetz get their act together.