Hamilton: Schumacher remains the greatest

Lewis Hamilton believes that Michael Schumacher remains the greatest driver of all time with his record of race wins and Formula 1 world championships, as the Brit reflected on the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday in which his points tally allowed him to claim his fifth title.

F1 legend Jackie Stewart recently claimed that Hamilton was "in the conversation" to determine the greatest ever driver in the sport, and with the Mercedes driver now matching Juan Manuel Fangio's tally of five titles, the accolades will only intensify.

Hamilton claims that he could not recognise himself as being the best, as he only focuses on winning one title at a time, but in his opinion, Schumacher remains the benchmark.

"Now I can tick off, I can strike out one of the things that I put on my list of the year. It’s always at the top: win the World title, do everything for that," Hamilton said.

"I think it’s impossible to say whether or not… firstly I could never ever personally classify myself as the best."

"Obviously, within myself, I know of my abilities and where I stand but ultimately, my Dad always told me, since I was eight years old, he said ‘do your talking on the track.’ So I just try to let my results and the results from the things that I do outside of my sport, hopefully, also contribute to that, so that people can hopefully create a decent opinion.

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Unbelievable, 5 World Championships! This is a moment I will never forget, a moment we reach together. To my parents, I am forever grateful for you supporting their small boy with a big dream. From teaching me to take my first step to racing in my first kart, you've enabled me to unlock my full potential. Look where we are now! If there's one thing they've taught me is to always believe in possibilities, no matter what life deals you. There is a path out there to your dreams. To my Team, thank you for inspiring me everyday with your collective vision and for dreaming the biggest dreams in the sport! I love all of you guys. TeamLH, each voice of yours connects with me in ways you will never know. You are beacons of light and we continue this journey together! #LHFive ???????????????????? #StillWeRise #TeamLH #GodIsTheGreatest @MercedesAMGF1 ???? @motorsport.images

A post shared by Lewis Hamilton (@lewishamilton) on Oct 28, 2018 at 3:44pm PDT

"But there’s still Michael’s. Michael’s still quite far ahead in race wins so you can have to say he is still the GOAT [Greatest Of All Time]."

Hamilton is honoured to have his name alongside Fangio on five titles, who he considers to be the "godfather" of the sport, and insisted he still has the same desire to succeed as he did when he was a kid.

"Fangio, I think, is the godfather and always will be, from a driver’s perspective," Hamilton continued.

"To do what he did at that time when everything was so dangerous… my respect is so high for him. I feel very honoured to have my name alongside his, that’s for sure and naturally just every proud to have the Hamilton name up there.

"If I stopped today, the Hamilton name will always be there. If you could see how tough it was for us from the beginning and even this year, you know, there’s still fighting with those obstacles and still coming stronger and stronger each year.

"I feel like I’m still driving with that fierce fire that I had when I was eight years old which I love. So I’ll keep going until that goes, which I don’t think it’s ever going to go but I will just… my bodyclock will run out at some stage."

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