FIA president
Max Mosley says he feels that
Lewis Hamilton could start to have a negative effect on Formula 1, if the young Briton is able to continue to produce results similar to those of his debut campaign.
Hamilton took F1 by storm as he narrowly missed out on becoming the first rookie champion in the history of the sport, with Ferrari's
Kimi Raikkonen stealing the title by just a single point during the season ending Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos.
However, Mosley insists that a similar performance from the young Briton could have a negative effect on the sport – with the risk that people could become bored of seeing the
McLaren man at the head of the field.
"If he does the same thing next season as he's done this season, it will certainly have a big effect," he told the
BBC. "It will start to be negative because we'll get the Schumacher effect where people start writing to me saying can't you do something to slow him down."
Mosley added that he felt that Hamilton's impact on
Formula 1 had been over-exaggerated – with anyone of a number of younger drivers having been waiting for the big break-through.
"He has certainly helped enormously in the UK," the
FIA chief continued. "He's also got a lot of interest worldwide because he's come manifestly not from a rich background. He's just made it.
"There is always somebody new. If it wasn't him it would be either Rosberg or Kubica or one of the other new stars, a Vettel, would suddenly be the big one.
"So I think there is a tendency to exaggerate the importance of Lewis Hamilton."
