Don't bring back Neanderthals, they'll be better at racing

Neaderthals could dominate F1

They say people who live in higher altitudes have stronger hearts due to the reduced amounts of available oxygen. This means when they compete against us sea levelled beings, they can expect a slight natural advantage, since stronger hearts can mean stronger athletic abilities. So imagine my disgust as I read that scientists are considering the idea of bringing back the Neanderthal species with reconstructed DNA. The athletic ability of a species much closer related to our ancestral apes, would be impossible for us humble humans to compete against.

I mean, do the scientists want us to face a future of dominated sport? Sprinting, long distance running, spear throwing: all Neanderthal specialities. And don't get me started on Motorsport. You thought the Schumacher era was bad, imagine a Neanderthal dominated sport, forever! The skills required to be a good F1 driver include reactions, precision, hand to eye coordination and athletic fitness, which funnily enough seem to be very suited to Mr Neanderthal. People are already starting to get sick of the current Vettel era; so please science, don't damn us to another one, especially one from another species!

Lewis Hamilton: Best When Behind The Visor

Lewis Hamilton, viewed by many as one of the fastest drivers to ever grace an F1 car. Phenomenal performances and aggressive racing, Lewis has brought some serious entertainment to World Championships of late. For this you'd expect him to be universally admired, yet there seems to exist more dislike for him than you might expect. So what does Lewis have to do to gain full respect amongst the world's elite racers?

I like Lewis Hamilton I really do, and that would not normally be expected for someone who has a soft spot for a pair of scarlet red cars. I often find myself admiring Lewis as a driver, but outside of the car he really hasn't made it easy for himself to become very popular. You may remember Lewis' misinformed accusation that Jenson Button, his team mate at the time, had unfollowed him on twitter. It was an incredibly awkward mistake that inevitably led to an embarrassing apology. You may also remember when Lewis revealed secret McLaren telemetry on his Twitter account, which created visible tension between McLaren's seniors and himself. Both of these very public incidents seemed to show a slightly hot headed Lewis that was unsurprisingly harder to like than say, the Felipe Massas of this world (what a nice guy).

Stevenage's (or is it Brooklyn's) Lewis Hamilton looking pretty Hip Hop

Thankfully, Lewis now seems to take an air of caution with his words on Twitter, recently only creating offence to the eyes of followers through his decisions to post pictures of himself dressed like an East Coast rapper. Although I suppose dressing in his native Stevenage colours wouldn't improve the situation much (Air Max tracksuits aren't great on a grown man).

Lewis has suffered 'hiccups' in other areas however, not least with the press. The lowest point came after his Ali G comments resulted in an unintentional racism storm back in 2011. Perhaps as a result of that, it does seem that he has now begun to manage his answers when faced with tricky questions, meaning he's joined the ranks of drivers who shield their true feelings behind a wall of generic "we'll see" and "maybe" responses. In many ways this is a shame as most fans want to see real emotion from drivers, but it's sure to keep the teams and particularly the sponsors happy, and they write the cheques!

Hamilton was fantastic through the junior ranks

Nevertheless, in my opinion Lewis doesn't even have to say anything to the cameras, or have to add a new twist to his Tweets; he just has to drive. I mean there's no denying it, Lewis is fantastic behind the wheel. From looking across his entire career, Lewis has demonstrated raw talent and natural speed in a range of racing machinery. It is true that he was fortunate enough to have had a push and significant funding from McLaren to get him to where he is today, but nothing can take from the fact he has demonstrated his worthiness and ability throughout. Even ignoring his successful junior years, his arrival in F1 was more than spectacular. Partnered with World Champion Fernando Alonso at McLaren, it was fair to assume it would be a very steep learning curve for Lewis. This didn't seem to phase him however, as he even managed to beat Fernando with competence and control not normally seen until several years into a driver's F1 career. We can't forget that had it not been for just a couple of costly errors and unlucky mechanical issues, Lewis could have been F1's first rookie World Champion.

Lewis celebrates his 2012 Canadian GP win

"But he's always been in a competitive car" I hear you say. This is true for the most part, but even if we were to ignore the results and focus entirely on his driving, his on track ability is nothing short of outstanding. Of all the current F1 drivers, his choice to set up the car in such a way that allows it to move about underneath him, creates some of the most fantastic on board footage and highly impressive driving. His style seems to be most prominent when he is on the absolute limit, where he seems comfortable with a significant amount of rear slip. This style was even evident not long ago on the BBC's own Top Gear, where Lewis managed to reduce the fastest Top Gear track lap time in the 'very normal' Suzuki Liana, by over 1 second. Stick him in anything on 4 wheels, and you can be confident Lewis will wring its neck.

So despite his colourful antics in the paddock and less than perfect image, when he sticks on the helmet and is belted into his car, I am a big Lewis Hamilton fan. Let's hope that 2013 will be the time he does the talking on track (but not in the Kimi Raikkonen "leave me alone" sense however!). Maybe then Formula 1's wider fanbase will begin to finally accept Lewis for what he really is, a phenomenally talented racing driver and wholly deserving World Champion.

Flappy Paddle Gearboxes: Not A Problem For The Playstation Generation

It's a well documented change taking place in the motor industry right now, with sports cars and now even hot hatches using them. A tool of the digital age that is dramatically changing the characteristics of driving. I'm talking about semi-automatic gearboxes, or flappy paddles as they're often called. Petrolheads far and wide have voiced their disgust at the lack of involvement these gearboxes bring to driving, but manufacturers are obviously confident they will sell. So surely someone must like them?

Semi-automatic gearboxes are becoming increasingly used in new cars, meaning no more does a driver have to slide through the gears with a heel of throttle and kick of the clutch. Instead, a simple click of a paddle located just behind the wheel is all that is needed. The resulting backlash of concern voiced by the petrolhead community about this loss to the driving experience, may have caused several to predict that these gearboxes would remain unattractive to enthusiasts. But I think it's quite possible that some of these sceptics have failed to notice a change in expectations for the 'ultimate' driving experience. A change that has been brought about thanks to video games.

Video games expose the coolest kids to driving long before they're 17

For many, their first memory of driving came when they sat on their fathers lap and were allowed to steer the family saloon around a car park. Others first experienced motoring at the turn of their 17th birthday, behind the wheel of a sorry looking hatchback that according to mum, was "plenty fast enough." But in recent years, many new drivers have had a taste long before they were able to steer their way onto our roads. Gran Turismo, Grid and Colin McRae Rally are just a few to name of a large number of racing and driving video games on offer to kids. These games require little more than the humble controller to simulate a steering wheel, throttle, brake and gearbox. It's here that many kids have their first experience of driving, and it's here they will have their first experience of a flappy paddle gearbox. These controllers often replace the gearbox with buttons, normally one for up and another for down, much like a proper semi-automatic box in a modern sports car. So long before they've learned how to wiggle a stick through the cogs of a conventional box, these gamers will already be an expert with a semi-automatic system.

The 2013 RS 200 comes with few added 'gamer gimmicks'

Semi-Automatic gearboxes are also often accompanied by other 'gamer friendly' gimmicks. Some new cars, including the 2013 Renault Clio RS 200, are available with software that pump engine noises of iconic sports and racing cars through the interior speakers, mimicking the revs of the cars actual engine. To the purists amongst us, this is another step away from actual driving. But for gamers, I can see this being a heavily used party trick to convince passengers you really have fitted your Clio with a V8. And surely, deep down inside of us all, there lies a little part of us that wants to be Lewis Hamilton when behind the wheel. I'm not proud to say it, but I myself have occasionally found myself mouthing an F1 like engine note whilst I race through the gears. It's not pretty, it's not pure, but it sure is fun. (Yes I'm a big kid).

Thanks to Gran Turismo and Grid, even children can drive a Ferrari...kind of

It's for this reason I think the youngest generation of drivers will be warm to the idea of a semi-automatic box before they even start driving. These gearboxes add to our inner Lewis Hamilton, bringing our little hatchbacks and saloons just that bit closer to the driving experience of a Formula 1 car. And lets not forget, those reduced CO2 numbers and improved performance figures will most certainly please our more environmentally aware teens. For the vast majority of drivers and 90% of journeys, semi automatic gearboxes are a perfectly acceptable and very useful tool. To be honest, they really are just better at changing gear.

Manual was good enough for Aryton...

But, (of course there had to be a but!), for those pure enthusiasts who prefer their Sennas to Hamiltons, it would be hard to argue that a semi-automatic gearbox doesn't remove a major component from the art of driving. Those who drive for pleasure rather than purpose, would lose the excitement felt when they stab at the throttle as they slip down the gears, mastering the heel and toe technique that drivers like Senna and Mansell perfected in their Formula 1 cars. Yes semi-automatics are a faster, more efficient way of changing gear, and yes they would probably be the weapon of choice on a qualifying lap. But for those fun Sunday drives where the stopwatch stays at home, I think it's fair to say that without a gear stick and clutch pedal, an irreplaceable part of the ultimate driving experience is lost.