“Lewis Hamilton has never been anything like that”: F1 journalist explains why Mercedes star is ‘better' than Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna

Late F1 journalist Murray Walker had claimed that seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is better than Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna.

Walker, who passed away in 2021, gave an interview in 2020, where he mentioned that it was difficult for him to tell who is the greatest F1 driver of all time but he picked the Mercedes driver over Schumacher and Senna. The Brit stated that Hamilton other than being ahead of both icons in statistics is also a less 'dirty' driver.

As per The Sun, Walker said:

"I used to say Fangio. I think I'm going to have to say very shortly Lewis Hamilton because if you look at it in terms of statistics, he's already got more poles than Schumacher. He's got at least three years in him if he doesn't hurt himself or leave Mercedes for some reason or they decide to stop, in which case he's got at least another three championships ahead of him, so statistically he will become the greatest.

"But he's also in my opinion -- and this is very contentious indeed -- better than either Schumacher or Senna because both of them, Schumacher and Senna, adopted at various times in their career highly debatable driving tactics. Like Schumacher stopping deliberately at Monaco to prevent Fernando Alonso from getting pole position, like Schumacher colliding with Jacques Villeneuve at Jerez in 1997, like Senna with Alain Prost in 1990 in Japan, and Lewis Hamilton has never been anything like that.

“We had some tough moments, like in 2016, but we tackled it right away" - Toto Wolff on Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff, meanwhile, has admitted that he and Hamilton had some tough moments in 2016 during his title fight with Nico Rosberg.

In a recent interview with ESPN, the Austrian said:

“Trust is a bit of a topic for him and me and you need to earn trust, test it, and only then can you trust and we built it up over the years. We had some tough moments, like in 2016, but we tackled it right away.

“It’s like [what] I have with Susie [Toto’s wife] if I have an issue you pick up the phone immediately and speak. Everything is being discussed and you clear the air, or you agree to disagree. And with him since then we have been super strong.”

It will be fascinating to see if Lewis Hamilton continues racing for Mercedes at the end of the season as his contract is expiring with the team.