Bernie: F1 needs more playboys like Lewis.

For once The Dwarf has a point. F1 must have some of the most stale and boring drivers. Take MotoGP for example. Most riders actually react to a camera pointed at them, and they don't act like they can't be arsed and don't have time for interviews.

Without your fans your nothing.

F1 needs to collectively have its head examined. Are they the "pinnacle of motorsport", or a media circus? with all of the moaning about Hamilton being "distracted" by his off-track activities, the assumption is that it can't be both (well...Hamilton can, as evidenced by Sunday :-), so what's it going to be, Bernie? A group of racing autobots with Senna-like focus, or a grid full of Jenson Buttons?

Does Bernie really think Hamilton is going to be tugging at Ron Dennis'leg, saying, "See, I can do whatever I want, Bernie said so!", just to cause internal problems at McLaren? Max & Bernie have made no secret of the fact they don't like Hamilton, so...

C'mon, Bernie. F1 isn't that bad off! Between Hamilton and Mosley, it's a regular circus out there!!!

LH has had a lot of criticism for enjoying the trappings of being a top-flight sports personality. But lets face it - if *you* could, you would.

Of course Bernie would love to have few playboys in F1 .... It is money for his pockets... In any other country with the rain who would have attended the GP without the controversy created with Hamilton in their hordes....

Bernie needs to realise times do change. I think it's fair to say that the sports playboy has gone out of fashion.

Hmm, hold on a minute. The MotoGP parallel is interesting. Most MotoGP rides do come across as more personal than most F1 drivers, but without constantly stirring up scandals. So what we might need then is accessibility, which is definitely something BE & co could work on. I think the problem is more F1's elitist nature than the lack of playboys. Although this elitism may well be part of F1's appeal. "The pinnacle of motorsport"... they more or less want us to look down on the simple working-class entertainment racing of NASCAR, for example. It's what sets F1 apart. You can love it or hate it, and personally, I think I both love it AND hate it.

Playboy image is out of Fashion? Hmm maybe, but here's my 2 cents.

David Beckham football player - model, world icon especially in Japan.
50 Cent rapper - world icon for inner city black males.
Tiger woods - world icon for up and coming sport spersons.
Lewis Hamilton - world icon for up and coming sportspersons.

My point, every kid in the world wants to be like at least one of these people
above at some point in their life.

In F1: Not Massa, Not Kimi, Not anyone else but - Hamilton. Why do you think the Celebrities are all over him like a rash? He dates chicks off MTV when he's bored.

He's the most popular F1 driver. He's been in F1 one full season and lost by 1 point!

we need to realise that it's all about money at the end of the day.

A sports person who says nothing, does nothing outside the sport and just sticks to his profession doesn't make money because nobody cares about them. People that are controversial stir peoples emotions and when that happens we the public become interested in what they say or do. the sponsors know this full well so if you court publicity and are talented you can sit back and watch the endorsements roll in. you think someone like beckham made the majority of his millions from his football salary????

Bernie knows it, that's why he's all for it because we all know he only cares about making money.

Lewis Hamilton is not James Hunt and he never will be.

did someone say he was????

The question Bernie should be asking is - would you want a role model like lulu or a one like Tiger? Woods, is the safer bet by a country mile since he attracts the sponsors, and the crowds without any controversy. I'm not so sure you can say that about lulu, Alonso or Kimi. And, I happen to like Kimi, but I would not want to sell him as a role model. A character? Yes, perhaps, but if you want that type of publicity why not entertain a thought of paring Paris Hilton on a date with lulu and Nicole? I'll bet every single housewife in England will turn to watch lulu at the next GP. Well, every housewife and my locomotive boy that is.

Fernando, u thimk too much about men.

I don't really agree with this at all. I think as already mentioned the era of top sports personalities being playboys is over. In my opinion if f1 wants to be taken seriously as the pinnacle of motorosport and the most professional of professional sports certain drivers need to indulge in a bit less messing around away from races. You rarely see these actions from professional cricketers or rugby players yet every week there seems to be some gossip about a memeber of the current f1 crop. I say this as a big motorsport fan yet many of my more casual sports fan friends agree and beleieve that most of the formula one grid are just playboys and only there for the parties and girls etc.

schumi, senna, prost etc were not playboys. they took their sport seriously and became some of the greatest. being a playboy does detract from the job in hand, and where it is nice to see the odd rebel such as jacques, eddie and james, modern racing requires more dedication

chu chu, Ferdi thinks too much about boys, like me.

I don't buy into it. He's a autonomous Ron Dennis clone, media groomed robot.

You can say that people like Woods and Beckham live playboyish lives, but they are certainly not the "controversial" type that some of you mention. Woods & Becks both have tons of cash, luxury homes, model-type wives etc, sure, but they're far from party animals.