"James Allison you have my heart": Fans react to the Mercedes director calling Lewis Hamilton 'the best racing car driver there has ever been'

F1 fans were emotional after Mercedes technical director James Allison called Lewis Hamilton the best racing driver ever. The seven-time world champion is statistically the most successful F1 driver in history given the number of race wins and pole positions he has achieved in his 17-year career.

Most of his success has come with the German team, for which Allison designed cars in the Turbo-Hybrid era. While speaking about Hamilton's impending departure from the Brackley-based outfit at the end of the 2024 season to Ferrari, Allison fondly remembered his time with the British driver.

Appearing on the podcast Beyond The Grid, the Mercedes director spoke about Lewis Hamilton turning in 'brilliant' performances despite all the drama regarding his races. He said:

"Putting a car on a road with such precision that just left all the other drivers around him with no option but to sort of surrender to what Lewis was doing on the road, the ability to make a tire last and last and last, even while telling Bono it wouldn't - the drama that goes along with having him as a teammate."

"But just the delivery of brilliant, brilliant performance. I have said before, I think he's the best racing car driver there's ever been, and I still believe it," he added.

F1 fans on X reacted to James Allison's comments on Lewis Hamilton, with some supporters showering Allison with their love for his opinion.

"This man chose Facts for breakfast," one declared.

"James Allison, you have my heart," a fan said.

"Okay, this makes me feel emotional a little bit," another wrote.

"Mr. James Allison I will miss you the most," one fan professed.

"Nice words ... at least someone in the team appreciate Lewis," this fan said.

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Mercedes's director gives his take on Lewis Hamilton's qualifying woes

James Allison stated that Lewis Hamilton's qualifying issues this season were down to the car and the tire combination in the current regulations, and how it does not fare well for the drivers when they hustle for lap time too much.

He said on Beyond The Grid:

"The current car type, not just us but across the pit lane, doesn't like being hustled. It's almost like you only get the best lap times when you're not trying and every weekend you'll see someone pops in a lap time in free practice or in qualifying in some session or other and you think well, where did that come from?"

"It sort of disappears in the mist straight after and I think in qualifying it's quite hard to get the best out of the car," he added.

Lewis Hamilton is trailing his teammate George Russell 1-8 in qualifying this season and has been second-best on a single lap in the nine races and two Sprints thus far.