Lewis Hamilton is the Best F1 Driver of All Time

Lewis Hamilton: The Greatest of All Time

 

Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton is the greatest F1 driver of all time.

There, I’ve said it! The one caveat being that this is my opinion.

After the debacle that was the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix of 2021, the last race of that season, I think that many of us F1 fans were feeling more than a little dispondant at the time. Lewis deserved the win in Abu Dhabi, and was not allowed a fair chance to fight for that win.

Lewis was comfortably leading the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix when Candian driver Nicholas Latifi crashed on lap 53, with only 5 laps to go. At that stage of the race, Hamilton was about 7 seconds ahead of Verstappen and pulling away. It was a certain win for Lewis Hamilton up to that point. Incidentally, the online abuse that Latifi suffered following that accident was horrific and should not be tolerated. But sadly, that behaviour defines social media and seems to have become the norm. 

But the Latifi crash introduced the safety car, and Verstappen was able to pit for new tyres without losing his second place position, while Hamilton stayed out on old tyres to maintain his lead. The race director, Michael Masi, made an unusual decision to allow only the lapped cars between Lewis and Verstappen to unlap themselves before the safety car came in. That sealed Hamilton's fate. The race was effectively over for Hamilton at that point.

The decision that Michael Masi made did not follow F1 rules, because ALL lapped cars should have been allowed to to regain their position before the race restarted. When the race did restart there was one lap for Verstappen on fresh faster tyres to pass Hamilton on old slower tyres. Hamilton didn't stand a chance.

Anyway, it was a fiasco, and Verstappen gained a dubious first F1 World Championship.

But returning to the theme of this article - Lewis Hamilton is the GOAT, and many people will of course disagree.

If you are a Lewis Hamilton fan or not, you cannot ignore Hamilton’s talent as an F1 driver. And there is no doubt that Lewis has tremendous talent.

I have followed F1 closely since about 1980, when I was a young enthusiast, so I feel that I have at least a modicum of F1 knowledge to support my opinion, and when I look back at F1 over the years there have been many memorable moments and great performances.

Nigel Mansell at Silverstone in 1992, a race that he won that year is one of these memorable moments in F1. I was at that race in 1992 to witness the euphoric atmosphere among the British supporters, who stormed the track at the end of the race. That was a big moment for Mansell, and he went on to take the world championship that year, winning 9 of the 16 races. He was unstoppable.

These were great days indeed for F1, especially when you consider that in that race in 1992 there was a young Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Mika Häkkinen, Damon Hill and of course Martin Brundle, who finished that race on the podium in 3rd place, ahead of his teammate Schumacher.

I was also at Silverstone in 2021 to witness another euphoric crowd cheering Lewis Hamilton on to victory. I was very fortunate to have experienced the race from the Mercedes F1 team’s hospitality suite in the Silverstone Paddock Club. To say that the room erupted when Lewis Hamilton passed Charles Leclerc in the final laps would be an understatement!

But what really stood out for me about Lewis’ 2021 British GP Silverstone win was just how much it meant to him. Not just the valuable championship points, which Lewis needed, but also how important it was for him to give something back to the F1 fans who support him every season.

Lewis Hamilton has always spoken fondly of his wonderful and loyal fans, and has always acknowledged them, at every race. They turn up every year to support him and Lewis is genuinely grateful to them all. When I left the circuit on race day, there were hoards of Hamilton fans making their way out of Silverstone.

And they had been rewarded that day with a magnificent and memorable win.

Lewis showed emotion after the Silverstone race. This is the power that comes from the crowd and from his fanbase, and he has a true connection with that. This is what makes Lewis Hamilton not just a great champion, but also a human being.

 

What makes the Best F1 Driver?

 

There are many factors that will collectively help to justify a driver as being the best, or greatest of all time (GOAT). These factors are not always obvious. Like how a driver handles the pressure of a hard-fought race. How do you measure this? It’s not that easy, and so attributes like these become more of a perceived characteristic rather than something that can be measured with numbers.

And then there are the more obvious factors that can be easily measured for every driver. Like who the quickest driver is, of course; the most consistent F1 driver and therefore the driver who will collect more points than an inconsistent driver; not to mention the driver with the most F1 wins; the driver with the most podium finishes; the driver with the most F1 pole positions. These are a few of the more obvious statistics that will define a legendary driver. Taking these and the various percentages will probably give us the broadest criteria when determining who the best is overall.

But there is an even greater challenge in the search for the greatest driver of all time - the different generations.of F1. Each generation had different challenges to face, and this will make the statistics for drivers in different generations hard to compare.

For example, the first generation of F1 drivers will score higher percentage ratings in some categories than the drivers in the modern era, for a number of reasons.

Back in 1950 when Fangio had his first F1 race, there were only 8 races in the entire season. In 1952, Alberto Ascari won 6 of the 8 races that season, that's 75% of the season's races. It would be impossible for any of today's F1 drivers to win 17 races in a season. This is not to say that the first generation of F1 driver was not equally skilled at their craft or even more so compared to the modern driver. The racing was just very different back then. The competition existed in a different form in the 1950s than it does to today.

It is therefore very hard to compare today’s F1 drivers with the drivers from the Ascari and Fangio era. But we'll try nonetheless.

 

The Silverstone 2021 Incident: Hamilton vs Verstappen

 

So, let's quickly address ‘that’ Silverstone 2021 incident between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton before we talk more about Lewis and his place in the all-time F1 driver rankings. This incident, as the pair approached the Copse bend, shows the difference between a brilliant young and comparatively inexperienced driver in Max, and the brilliance and experience of a seven-time world champion in Lewis.

I have read may opinionated views from people who are clearly Max Verstappen and Red Bull fans, and others who are clearly Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes fans. I will try and be as unbiased as possible, and take the facts as we know them, including the views of the other drivers.

To begin with, the consensus among all drivers is that the collision between Max and Lewis was a racing incident. This is the consensus among all drivers except perhaps one, which is understandable under the circumstances. A racing incident is a formal way of say 'these things happen'.

Charles Leclerc witnessed the accident from close quarters behind the two protagonists and had no hesitation in recognising this collision between Verstappen and Hamilton as a racing incident.

Fernando Alonso and even Nico Rosberg also recognise this as a racing incident, as does Martin Brundle and Jolyon Palmer. They all have the benefit of seeing the footage multiple times. There are many others with the same opinion.

The reaction from these drivers is important, because these are drivers who have had time to consider the incident and who have all had similar encounters with other drivers over the years.

The stewards had a slightly different view, and saw Lewis as being more culpable than Max, and penalised Hamilton with a 10 second penalty.

This does not however mean that Lewis was responsible for causing the incident. The ruling from the stewards reflects Max’s role in the incident too, making him partly responsible.

Ultimately, both drivers were responsible for the incident to varying degrees. This is a fact that needs no further debate.

 

That Silverstone Incident in More Detail

 

 

Let’s take a closer look at the incident itself, because it provides us with a clear comparison between two very talented drivers.

Hamilton was battling hard on the opening lap, trying to engineer a pass on Verstappen who started on pole. Lewis was clearly the faster driver at the start of the race and was challenging Max very hard in the opening corners.

Hamilton was alongside Verstappen on the Wellington straight, and their cars almost touched as they entered the Brooklands bend. Hamilton was fractionally ahead of Verstappen at that point.

Max was fighting hard but fairly to defend his position, and he kept the lead.

After Brooklands the two drivers came out of the Luffield bend and Hamilton was close, taking a subtly different line as they approached the next bend, Woodcote.

It was very clear to everyone watching that Lewis Hamilton was going to get a tow through Woodcote, which is a long straight down to Copse, and was going to make another move on Verstappen.

 

And of course Lewis Hamilton did indeed get that tow, and pulled alongside Verstappen as they approached Copse, which is a famously high speed bend.

We take a breath at this point to consider a few things.

Lewis was quicker and had already pulled alongside Max twice in the 50 seconds leading up to this point. It was inevitable that he was about to do so again.

This will have put Max under pressure and perhaps surprised the Red Bull team, who had enjoyed four wins in succession before Silverstone. Their car was generally considered the faster car in the 2021 season.

When Lewis found the tow from Max and came alongside as they both approached the Copse bend at about 160 mph, Max will have known that Lewis was there. He should also have anticipated this, which is probably the most salient point in this whole mini drama.

Why did Max Verstappen turn in for the corner at Copse knowing that Lewis was alongside, and then suffer the collision as a result? An experienced driver will have known that Hamilton was never going to make the apex at Copse in the normal fashion, and was not going to suddenly disappear. This is F1 racing.

Lewis made the same move on Charles Leclerc in the closing laps, and Leclerc did what Max should have done when a faster car is making a move on you. Charles was forced wide and finished the race on the podium.

Max has forced other drivers wide when overtaking on many occasions, so this is no new concept to him.

Max Verstappen is a brilliant driver and a future world champion. He is also a young driver, like Lewis was back in 2007, and has received some criticism for his aggressive driving style. If you watch some of Max's incidents  you can see where some of that criticism comes from.

 

So Who Was to Blame for the Silverston 2021 Incident?

 

• Lewis wasn’t going to make the apex at Copse where the accident happened, and was penalised for that
• Max should have taken a wider line at Copse knowing that Hamilton was on his inside, instead of turning in
• The overwhelming consensus in the paddock among all drivers was that this was a racing incident
• Similar scenarios happen in F1 frequently
• Both drivers were responsible for the accident to varying degrees

And finally, Max must learn from this, and Christian Horner and the Red Bull senior team members need to handle situations like this far better than they did. They have only damaged the Red Bull team image with their belligerent reaction on the day and after.

 

Lewis Hamilton: F1 Rookie Robbed of A Championship?

 

Max Verstappen is a young F1 driver, only 23 years old, who is the rising star of F1. What was Lewis Hamilton like as a young 23 year old when he entered F1?

Lewis Hamilton landed in F1 in 2007 as a rookie driver for McLaren. He was certainly awarded a very capable car with McLaren, and had the magnificent Fernando Alonso as a teammate, who at the time was the current F1 World Champion.

Alonso had won the previous two world championships, and was generally regarded as one of the best F1 drivers at that time, perhaps even the best. Being a teammate to Alonso would be an intimidating entry into F1 for any young driver. But not Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton’s first season in F1 was quite simply a masterclass. Lewis Hamilton outqualified his teammate Fernando Alonso with 6 pole positions compared to Alonso’s 2 pole positions in that first season for Hamilton.

Hamilton and Alonso both won 4 races in 2007 and both ended the season on 109 points. Lewis Hamilton was ranked higher than Alonso and finished the 2007 season in second place, only one point behind Kimi Räikkönen in the Ferrari on 110 points. Räikkönen won the 2007 F1 Workld Championship.

The 2007 Formula One season was where Lewis Hamilton made his statement to the world of F1. He was always going to be a world champion, and it wasn’t going to take long.

There are some, like myself, who believe that Lewis Hamilton should have won the 2007 Formula One World Championship, as a rookie. Every season has incidents, and 2007 was no different. But you cannot help but wonder if there were some more sinister events happening behind the scenes, intended to deprive Lewis Hamilton of the greatest F1 title on his debut year.

The events that transpired that year would make anyone suspicious.

The most obvious of these events being in the final race of the 2007 season. Three drivers were vying for the championship in that last race in Brazil. Lewis Hamilton was on 107 points, with Fernando Alonso on 103 points and Kimi Räikkönen on 100 points. Hamilton entered the final race in Brazil as the clear favourite.

Hamilton had a poor start with Alonso passing him. But Hamilton’s chances of any success in that race were destroyed by a gearbox issue, which pushed him to the back of the pack of drivers. And this is where the suspicion mounts. This technical issue for Hamilton did not stop Lewis on track, and was miraculously fixed and he carried on, finishing the race in 7th place. Not enough for the championship that season. Very suspicious.

Let's also remind ourselves who the FIA president was back in 2007. Yes, that's right, Max Mosley, who was once an active member of his father's Union Movement, a far right fascist movement. The Union Movemement were everything that you would expect from a fascist moivement, Inciting racist and anti-semitic conflict. Max Mosley himself had connections with the 1958 race riots from his fascist background.

So do you really think that Max Mosley was going to allow a rookie like Lewis Hamilton to win his first world championship in his debut year? Of course not.

 

The Statistics Speak for Themselves

 

The facts and figures that define Lewis Hamilton’s career are impressive.  Enough to justify his place as the greatest F1 driver of all time. Alongside the statistics, the highlights of Hamilton’s F1 career also provide the foundation for his lofty status in the sport.

As mentioned earlier in this article, one of the hardest aspects in trying to establish the best F1 driver of all time comes when you start comparing the first generation F1 drivers with the drivers in the modern era. It is almost impossible to do fairly. And when I refer to the modern era, I consider that to be anything in F1 from about 1970 onwards.

Fangio is regarded as one of the best F1 drivers of all time. His first season in F1 in 1950 had 8 races, and Fangio competed in a total of 52 F1 races over 8 years. Lewis Hamilton on the other hand has competed in 277 races over 14 years. The more races you compete in, the harder it will be to maintain a successful record.

But to measure the overall success and ranking of an F1 driver, we need to examine the statistics alongside the career highlights. So, taking the data recorded in Wikipedia, let’s explore this in more detail.

Here are some of the key highlights and statistics of Lewis Hamilton’s career in F1:

• Finished his first season in F1 only one point behind the winner that year, Kimi Räikkönen, and ahead of his teammate, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso in the same car
• First world championship in only his second season in F1, and he was once again competing alongside two-time world champion teammate Fernando Alonso
• The most F1 wins of any driver, 100 as I write this
• The highest race win percentage of any driver in the modern era at 35.74% (Juan Manuel Fangio has 46.15% with 52 race entries and Alberto Ascari 39.39% from 33 race entries)
• The most pole positions of any driver and a percentage 36.46%, which is second only to Ayrton Senna on 40.12% in the modern era
• The second highest number of consecutive pole positions (7), second again to Ayrton Senna who achieved 8 consecutive pole positions in 1988
• 56 fastest laps, second only to Michael Schumacher who has 77
• The highest number of podium finishes of any driver at 173 with the highest percentage at 62.45% in the modern era
• Finished more races with points than any other driver at 239
• The highest number of consecutive points finishes (48) of any driver, and the highest number of consecutive points (998)
• The highest average points per race start of any driver at 14.34
• A staggering 86.28% of races finished in the points, more than any other F1 driver
• Most number of laps of any driver leading a race at 5227
• Travelled the further distance leading a race of any driver at 26,577km
• Second only to Jim Clark as the driver with the highest number of races started on pole, holding the fastest lap and leading every lap, and winning the race (6)

The debate over who is the greatest  F1 driver of all time is a hot topic, and Formula1.com has considered whether Lewis Hamilton is the GOAT, and our friends at RoadandTrack.com agree that Lewis Hamilton is indeed the greatest of all time.

 

But Lewis Hamilton Has the Best Car!

 

 

This will always be a mantra from those who do not like Lewis Hamilton. And to a certain degree this statement may be true. You cannot win championships with a bad car. But Lewis’ ability to extract the maximum from the car that he is driving demonstrates his tremendous ability. Lewis has driven a McLaren when it was not the best car on the track, and I recall how he squeezed every ounce of performance and speed from that car. More so than any other driver probably could have done.

Michael Schumacher, himself a mighty driver with the same number of world championships as Lewis, had more race starts with Ferrari than Lewis has had so far with Mercedes, and the Ferrari of Michael Schumacher was a fine car that afforded Michael many victories.

So it would be wrong to conclude that Lewis Hamilton is only as successful as he is because of the car.  

Lewis Hamilton is the greatest F1 driver of All Time. Case closed….for now.

 

The last Race of the 2021 Season, a Disaster

 

Lewis Hamilton boycotted the end of season ceremony in Paris. I completely understand why he would do that following the abysmal stewardship of the final race. The Abu Dhabi Gran Prix, the last race of the season, was also the most important race of the 2021 season.

It was also the most raw case of a driver being robbed of a win. And the world championship.

If Nicholas Latifi, a Canadian who drives for the Williams team, had not had a bad accident with only 5 laps of the race remaining, then Lewis Hamilton would have won the race in Abu Dhabi and the 2021 world championship.

But accidents happen, and the teams are ready for that. But what happened next was enough to make any championship contender consider their future in the sport.

Max Verstappen was able to gain a huge advantage from the consequence of the Latifi crash. The race was over for Hamilton when Max, on fresh tyres was allowed to race one final lap with Hamilton, who was on old tyres. Everyone watching knew that the race, the most important race of the season, was over before it ended. 

Max Verstappen was handed the race win on a plate, courtesy of the FIA.

There were so many better ways to manage this incident in the last 5 laps of the most important race of the season.

The FIA, who have a history of preferential treatment for certain drivers, were reckless in their handling of the incident.

The sad consequence is that Max has a dubious first world championship win. He deserves better; Lewis deserves better; and the sport and all the F1 fans deserve way better.