Lewis Hamilton Learns the Art of Waving a Chequered Flag

Lewis Hamilton is not getting any younger and soon, talks of retirement may crop up. When that day eventually comes, if he finds himself missing the sport, he can always wave the chequered flag after being taught how by actor Will Smith.

Last year Winnie Harlow proved that waving the chequered flag isn’t always the easiest job. She courted plenty of ire due to an error beyond her control.

The model, a close friend of Hamilton’s, had the honour at the Canadian Grand Prix but waved it one lap too early after officials instructed her to do so.

Smith doesn’t have an answer for the Harlow incident, he did at least teach Hamilton a new technique.

Smith reckons now that Hamilton has seen how it should be done, he’s going to feel let down in the future.

“It is going to be hard for you next time you drive past the finish line and you don’t have that, watch, you are going to feel the void,” he said.

Already 34-years-old and with five World Championships to his name, is there anything left for Lewis Hamilton to accomplish in Formula 1?

He came to Formula One in 2007, joining McLaren after winning the 2006 GP2 Championship. 2007 almost brought him a debut Formula One World Championship, but his slide into the Chinese GP’s pitlane gravel trap proved disastrous. A 7th place finish in Brazil allowed Kimi Raikkonen to win the title by a point.

The drama would return to South America a year later, as Felipe Massa thought he was top-dog after winning the Brazilian GP. But there was that famous overtake on Timo Glock in the final corner, promoting Hamilton to 5th. As a result, he became the youngest ever Formula One World Champion in the process.

Skip forward to 2014 – the turbo-hybrid era strolled into the sport, and Hamilton has since claimed a further four World Championship’s while winning 51 of the 100 races to have been held.

Sebastian Vettel has faded away from the title-fight for the past two seasons now, while the always talkative Max Verstappen continues to pop in a good performance here-and-there, while reminding Hamilton seemingly on a daily basis, that he is coming for his throne.

Valtteri Bottas has done little to convince the powers that be to see him an Lewis’ equal, so it all appears wrapped up heading into 2019 but not necessarily.

This season, two more hungry youngsters, namely Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly, have announced their presence.