Formula One: Lewis Hamilton believes the sport is being outshone by Formula 2

Four-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton believes and is not happy that the sport is being outshone by Formula 2.

Lewis Hamilton, 32, just won his fourth career Formula One championship in his 11th career season as a full-time driver in the sport. In fact, his fourth career title was his third in the last four years.

In the four-year span during which he has won his most recent three titles, he set a record for victories in a four-year span, as he won 40 races from the 2014 to 2017 seasons, something that no driver has ever done before in any four-year span in the history of the sport.

Also in that four-year span, he reeled off three consecutive seasons of 10 or more wins. No other driver in Formula One history has ever even reeled off back-to-back seasons of 10 or more wins, and there have only been four other 10-wins seasons by all other drivers combined in the sport’s history.

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So you’d think that Hamilton would be pretty satisfied right now in terms of his career Formula One as a whole. In general, it is pretty safe to say that he is. But he is looking beyond his own success and looking at the success of the sport as a whole. He is looking at the sport from a “big picture” point of view. And from his angle, what he sees isn’t exactly great.

Hamilton sees Formula One being outshone by other sports, even lower levels of FIA racing, namely Formula 2. And his theory makes sense, especially with the overtake total from the 2017 Formula One season being nearly cut in half from the overtake total in the 2016 season.

Here is what Hamilton had to say about Formula One being outshone by other sports, namely Formula 2, according to Autosport.com.

"“From a racing driver’s point of view you just want to be able to race closely like you could in karts. Kart racing is the best form of racing still, because the guys follow each other so closely. The cars this year are the best they’ve ever been. Looking at the next step, I believe Ross [Brawn] and Chase and the teams are really working hard to make sure that the next cars in 2021, they’re even more raw.“I hope they make the cars louder. You can have bigger tyres. Why did Jackie [Stewart] have big tyres back in the day and we’ve got smaller tyres? Maybe a little less downforce, maybe we can race closer. There’s no reason why a GP2 race or F2 or whatever you want to call it should be louder and sound better, and be able to have better racing, and follow closer.“And that’s what we’ve somehow got to make in F1, while it’s still faster than the other classes. Everyone has an opinion about it. It’s not about what I want, it’s just F1 has been a little bit behind other sports. It’s such a special sport. And you look at the NFL, you look at soccer, you look at all these other sports which happen to have a little bit more of a global awareness – F1 has the scope to be as big as those.“The great thing with Chase [Carey] and the team from Liberty [Media] coming in is they’ve really brought something new into the mix this year, whilst they’re learning at the same time about the sport, and what the fans want.”"

Hamilton’s points all make sense. Unlike in kart racing, Formula One drivers really don’t run that close together, and running close together does indeed produce exciting racing like you see in NASCAR or in IndyCar oval races.

He is also correct that Formula 2 cars are louder and sound better while producing racing that is more competitive than the racing that takes place in Formula One. And finally, he is correct that Formula One has the scope to be as big as some of the world’s top sports in terms of fanbases, especially with the worldwide presence it already has. With some changes to make for closer competition, that may become a reality.

Next: Who is the greatest Formula One driver of all-time?

Will Formula One become more competitive in the near future to the point where it is no longer outshone by Formula 2? The 2018 season is set to begin on Sunday, March 25th with the Australian Grand Prix. How competitive will the season-opener be? Will we see more or less than 21.75 overtakes, the 2017 season race average, in that race?