Formula 1 - How good is Lewis Hamilton?

Is this kid the real deal or is he just a flash in the pan? It's too early to tell but I'm extremely impressed by what we've seen from him so far. Two races into the season and he has a 2nd and a 3rd position finish in two career starts and this morning he took a front row effort. All that we have seen from this young man is what he currently knows, he hasn't even begun to show us his promise or what he is learning.

I'm one of the American anomalies when it comes to F1. I began watching the series in the mid to late 70's when ABC would show select races on it's Wide World of Sports weekend show. The races were on tape delay back then but I had the opportunity to see the greats of the 70's and early 80's in their full glory.

In '89 I became a full time fan of F1 after attending the French Grand Prix at Paul Richard while the ship I was stationed on made a port visit to Marseilles. So I have been following the sport as closely as possible for 18 years. I've seen the great years of Prost, Senna and Mansel. I saw the emergence and ascendancy of Hakkinen and Schumacker. I even got to see Gilles Villeneuve before his death. I'm impressed and intrigued by Hamilton.

The commentators on SpeedChannel have caught a bit of grief for their praise of Hamilton but I think their attention is warranted. I can't think of a single racer in any form of motorsports who has come out of the gate so strong with signs of maturity as great as he has.