Does G.O.A.T. Lewis Hamilton F1?

Now that he's five-time world champion, the question must be asked: Is Lewis Hamilton the greatest Formula 1 driver of all time?

This is not a simple question. Neither instinct nor raw statistics can give a definitive answer. But if you have the conversation, you can not leave Hamilton out.

If he was not already one of the great sports, he is now and, above all, he is still at the top of his abilities.

A five-time champion

Statistically, Hamilton's fifth world title earned him an incredibly exclusive club. There have been 16 multiple world champions in the history of this sport, but only two drivers before Hamilton have increased their total to five, and both are very good candidates for the title of Greatest Of All Time (or GOAT) of F1.

Juan Manuel Fangio was the first to achieve this feat by winning his fifth title in 1957. It then took 45 years for another driver to match it. Michael Schumacher won his fifth title in 2002 before adding two more in 2003 and 2004. total to an unprecedented seven. Schumacher also holds the all-time record for race wins with an impressive 91 over his career – 20 more than Hamilton's current count. But the most impressive statistic is probably that of Fangio, who recorded a remarkable victory percentage of 46.15%. In comparison, Hamilton won 31.28% of the races in which he participated, while Michael Schumacher managed 29.5%.

But statistics tell you only a lot. Unlike most other sports, Formula 1 drivers rely heavily on their equipment to succeed. Of course, the best drivers usually end up driving for the best teams, but just look as far as Fernando Alonso on the current F1 grid for a case study with unrealized potential.

In addition, the machinery on which the pilot relies has changed so much in the 69 years of the Formula 1 World Championship that comparisons between eras are almost impossible. Today 's cars are technological masterpieces that could not be launched without advanced computing power, while the cars of the Fangio era did not have the power to run. did not even have a seatbelt. It is perhaps this element of security that makes the achievements of yesteryear so impressive; It's one thing to win five titles, it's another to do it with the specter of death chasing you across every corner.

And then there is the quality of the opposition. It is true that any athlete can beat only the opposition put in front of him, but some of the brilliance can not help but be eliminated when the deviations from his rivals are measured in seconds rather than milliseconds. The three names mentioned above have won their titles in a combination of dominant cars and less dominant cars and it is unlikely that a driver will ever get five titles without this higher level of equipment at some point of her career.

Winning a championship in a dominant car simply means beating your teammate, which, according to your teammate, can vary in difficulty. Between 2000 and 2004, Schumacher was virtually untouchable and, like Fangio throughout his career, enjoyed a clear hierarchy of having No.1 status over his teammate. In comparison, Hamilton has faced Nico Rosberg with equal chances between 2014 and 2016 and this year, Valtteri Bottas was no longer his winger when the Finn was out of the race. Of course, it depends a lot on your Rosberg and Bottas rating, but Hamilton has never been, nor ever asked, to be de facto # 1.

Hamilton's overwhelming victory over Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel this year is also a sign of greatness. Neither Fangio nor Schumacher won the title by facing another world champion four times. Still, Hamilton made Vettel ordinary compared to this year. The performance advantage between Mercedes and Ferrari fluctuated throughout the season, but there is no doubt that Vettel underperformed in his face-to-face battle with Hamilton. Vettel's mistakes may have had more to do with the atmosphere at Ferrari than the pressure of his rival, but that should not alter the clinical victories won by Hamilton in the second half of the year.

What makes a real big?

For many fans, however, the world titles will never be the true barometer of greatness in Formula One. For them, a real big transcends the numbers of a page and becomes a legend in its own right. Hamilton's childhood hero, Ayrton Senna, is undoubtedly in contention for the title of F1 champion G.O.A.T. He also defeated Alain Prost in 1988 to become world champion (and his other GOAT candidate). Of course, Prost got a return on Senna the following year and finished his career with four titles against three, but the Brazilian was tragically put out by his fatal accident at the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994. This adds another element to the discussion, especially if Schumacher won titles in 1994 and 1995 with Senna on the grid. As a result, trying to make comparisons based solely on statistics can quickly become fatal.

And when you start looking beyond the numbers, there are a lot of names that come up. Alberto Ascari enjoyed tremendous success in the two years leading up to the creation of the F1 World Championship and earned the second highest winning percentage of all time (39.39%) when he died twice World champion to test a Ferrari sports car at Monza in 1955. Sir Stirling Moss never won a title, but beat Fangio at the 1955 Mille Miglia – arguably the most difficult race of all – under the same conditions. Jim Clark would almost certainly have won more than his two titles though he had not died during a Formula 2 race in 1968, by which time he had obtained the third highest winning percentage of all time, with 34.25%. Sir Jackie Stewart won three titles in his time, while launching a campaign to improve safety in F1 – a campaign that has undoubtedly saved lives. Niki Lauda returned to the brink of death in 1976 and in his second retreat in 1984, he added two more titles to the one he won in 1975. And those who saw Gilles Villeneuve in action say that 39 He has never been so exciting or talented pilot to watch, regardless of his lack of titles. This is by no means an exhaustive list and could very easily continue.

And then there is the impact that a driver has over Formula One. Senna, Schumacher and Fangio all have legacies that go far beyond the limits of the F1 paddock and have become names. well known. Fangio is less known now, but he was so famous in his day that the Cuban revolutionaries kidnapped him in 1958 to publicize their cause before the 1959 revolution. As a sidenote, Fangio sympathized with his captors, claiming thereafter: more adventure. If the rebels have acted for a good cause, then, as an Argentine, I accept it. "

Times have changed since then, but Hamilton has also become a global superstar in recent years. Her personal brand is reaching new audiences every day thanks to her association with celebrities on the A-List. His high-profile clothing collection with fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger has seen his face appear on billboards around the world.

Yours, Lewis

But perhaps it's still too early to talk about Hamilton as the greatest of all time, perhaps its greatest achievements are yet to come …

Based on its average win rate of ten victories per year over the past five seasons with Mercedes, Schumacher's two indisputable records – 91 wins and seven world titles – are within Hamilton's reach at the end of his current contract two years.

So, without being able to give a definitive answer for the moment, we will leave the question to the man best placed to know what lies ahead.

Lewis, do you consider yourself a G.O.A.T. of F1?

"First, I could never personally call myself better," he said at a press conference Sunday night in Mexico City. "Obviously, in me, I know my abilities and my position, but my dad always told me, since the age of eight," speaks well on the track. "So I'm just trying to let my results and the results of what I do outside of my sport create a decent opinion for others.

"But there's always Michael, Michael is still quite far ahead in the race victories, so you may have to say that he's still the GOAT." Fangio, I think, is the godfather and will always be, from pilot's point of view, doing what he did at that time when everything was so dangerous … my respect is so high for him.

"I'm very honored to have my name next to hers, that's for sure and of course, we're all proud to have the name Hamilton located there." "If I stop myself today, the name Hamilton will always be there.If you could see how difficult it was for Since the beginning and even this year, you know, we are still struggling against these obstacles and I keep coming out of louder and louder each year.

"I feel like I'm still driving with that fierce fire I had when I was eight, which I love, so I'll continue until it lasts, which I think will never go on, but my bodyclock will be exhausted at some point. "