Hamilton not in Stewart's top-three all-time F1 drivers
Hamilton not in Stewart's top-three all-time F1 drivers
Sir Jackie Stewart does not believe Lewis Hamilton can be considered in the top-three Formula 1 drivers of all time despite him standing on the verge of history this season.
Hamilton goes into this weekend's Eifel Grand Prix at the Nürburgring one victory shy of Michael Schumacher's record of 91 F1 race wins, while the Briton is on course to also match the German's mark of seven titles.
Yet Stewart feels the current era of F1 does not compare to that in the 1950s, '60s and '70s when considerably shorter F1 seasons meant drivers were forced to compete in several other categories.
"I don't think you can account for that sort of level of success just because today there are 20, 22 races," assessed Stewart, speaking on the Australian Grand Prix Corporation's 'In The Fast Lane' podcast.
“Juan Manuel Fangio, in my mind, is the greatest driver that’s ever lived, with Jim Clark as the second greatest, even ahead of [Ayrton] Senna.
“Those people only raced maybe sometimes six to eight or nine races a year in Formula 1. They were driving sports cars, GT cars etcetera.
“But the world championship now, Lewis or any of the other top contenders today, are doing 22 races or 21 races, but only in Formula 1, not in touring cars, not in GT cars, not in IndyCars nor in Can-Am cars, so therefore, you can’t really compare.
“One year I was driving around the world like an idiot. I went across the Atlantic 86 times, to drive and do business in America, as well as in the UK. Nobody would do that today.
“The pressure today is much more relaxed. Of course, they go to the factory and do the simulator but that’s not quite the same.
"Those 86 [flights] across the Atlantic, that was 27 of them with Concorde, so it’s a different world. It’s not the same playing ground.”
Stewart is hoping that when the new regulations come into force in 2022, Mercedes' era of dominance will finally come to an end, with the manufacturer set to clinch its seventh successive constructors' title this season.
Asked whether he believed such dominance could be repeated, he replied: "I hope not because it's not good for the sport.
"Lewis drives extremely well, make no mistake. I'm not in any way diminishing his skills, but it isn't the same
“Lewis made a very good decision when he left McLaren and went to Mercedes-Benz, and I take my hat off to him for making that decision, but frankly, the car and the engine are now so superior that it’s almost unfair on the rest of the field."
Stewart highlighted the fact Fangio won four of his five titles with different manufacturers, while Hamilton is set to win his sixth with Mercedes.
“You must take your hat off to Mercedes-Benz, to Toto Wolff and to Niki Lauda before that when they were working together to make one hell of a team, for choosing the best engineers, getting the best money that most other teams couldn’t get, apart from, say, Red Bull," added Stewart.
“Therefore it’s not quite the same respect if you like, of being able to do it in less than the best car, and that’s where sometimes there’s where the difference [is] between the very, very great drivers and the ones that were very successful.
“It’s difficult to say that about Lewis, not being as good as, say, Fangio was in my mind, and a lot of people would find fault in that.
“To say that Lewis is the greatest driver of all time, would be difficult for me to justify, in the sheer power of what the other drivers were doing.”
Before you go...
Nürburgring holds "emotional" attachment for Wolff
Red Bull open to reuniting with Renault - Horner
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Red Bull to lose F1 MVP as true cost of Horner saga hits
- 46 minutes ago
F1 pundit reveals the thing about Wolff that ANNOYS Horner
- 1 hour ago
Newey exit DATE revealed as Red Bull F1 chief set to leave
- 2 hours ago
F1 News Today: Red Bull star set to QUIT team as F1 legend reveals flood of death threats
- Today 06:27
Audi agree STAR driver contract as Mercedes driver tipped for new F1 seat THIS season - GPFans F1 Recap
- Yesterday 23:57
Ferrari show off new-look drivers following HUGE announcement
- Yesterday 22:57
Related news
Incredible statistic puts Verstappen AHEAD of Hamilton record
Fierce rival calls Hamilton F1's GOAT in surprise admission
Hamilton sends strong message over Gaza deaths
Former F1 chief hits out at Hamilton 'EXCUSES'
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860