https://www.planetf1.com/news/hamilton-now-in-same-league-as-senna-says-berger/ He's been asked about other drivers before but he says Hamilton's the one.
I suppose opinions on this are going to subjective, and personal to the individual, meaning he could be right or wrong, therefore Berger can be no more right/correct or inaccurate than anybody else, but I have no argument in believing his assessment on Lewis .
That's a difficult one; and besides, "being on the same league" is probably not easy to translate directly from english to french... I have to say that I never was a great fan of Senna as "the man" - or what we knew of him - (I thought he was sometimes flawed or egocentric) but if my memories are still intact, as a driver, almost everybody agreed during his heydays (and not only after: during his heydays) that he was "something else". Lewis has probably be above all other drivers the last two seasons, but before that, against Jenson Button or Nico, he was not as special as Senna more or less always was. And there was a Senna legend admitted by almost anyone already before the Imola incident. I maybe wrong on this, but I don't think there is such an aura around Lewis? So, Lewis above the others, yes; a great driver, yes indeed; but not already a "legend in his own driving time", which Senna undoubtly was. But Gerhard Berger is of course entitled to his opinion. Rgds
I would say that Berger not only being teammates with Senna bur also close friends with him has a little more insight than we do.
You sum up exactly my opinion bout Senna. I found him arrogant and didn't like his personality at all. Difficult to judge if Hamilton is in the same league. They were both on top of their game if different eras, that's all I can say.
Berger had no problem with Senna because from the outset he accepted his position in relation to him: Prost didn't and was soon seen as the enemy.
I think Lewis might be well in the same league when it comes to arrogance and unlikable personality [emoji16] Gesendet von meinem SM-G930F mit Tapatalk
I think Lewis is already a legend, it will further come to light long after he retires, as with Fangio Schumi, etc. Thats the the way it works. You have to look at a drivers whole body of work, not just a year or two. If Schumi was judged by the years he got beat by Hakkinnen, Villeneuve, Rosberg, Alonso it'd would be fair, you have to look at the whole resume. Its different when a legend has a tragic death as Senna, that carries another level of mystic, no other F1 greats can match.
The thing that makes true greatness is the level of competition you beat. It's not Hamilton's fault that there has not been a great rival team and or driver to compete against but it is still hard to judge him as the best when he has had no one great chasing him. Would Ali have been as highly regarded and thought of as the greatest without Frazier etc.
+1 I do not like Lewis, that much is clear. I do not think he is a bad driver, in fact the opposite. Obviously he is pretty damn good at what he does. But the best? Nope. Beaten too often in equal machinery, and rarely did he beat someone with an outstanding measure. In his ''worst'' machinery (he never really had a bad car), he doesn't look quite so amazing. The Mercedes flatters everyone. Is Lewis the best of his generation? Depends who you count as his generation. Is Alonso included? Then no, he's not. Is his generation between himself, Vettel and I guess Rosberg? A difficult call. He certainly makes it look easy right now, and with Vettel quite simply not on the level as good as he can be, as we've seen him do...diminishes Vettel's value. Vettel was virtually unbeaten in his championship years (and chasing in 2009). He didn't suffer at the hands of his teammates. But his current exploits does diminish his stock. It'll be a never ending debate and it'll only result in name calling, and no one will want to admit one driver is better than the other purely on who they support. I do not think he is the best of all time or even the best of drivers he's raced against (discounting Schumacher in this any case as they weren't in anything close to equal machinery). That goes to Alonso and Verstappen has his hand on that position already. Schumacher, to my mind, is the best we've seen. In his prime he rarely great, as he stepped it up a notch was practically always exceptional. When he wasn't exceptional he was still great. I don't believe in bringing up statistics. Too many variables. As you mention, quality of opponents, quality of machinery vs the rest. It's easy to look the best when you're driving a spaceship and the rest has been given bicycles with wonky wheels....
LMAO How many on here will be pissed with that and start to argue against Berger saying he knows nothing bla bla bla.
Berger must be missing the limelight and wants to get some copy...... big whoop. Wonder how much he got paid for his comments
The difference is pro Hamilton's opinions come from F1 drivers, negative Ham opinions come from internet drivers
But still he is only observer. I am sure you will find other F1 drivers who would not agree that he is near Senna... difference is that as soon as it suits you it is the only truth. Gesendet von meinem SM-G930F mit Tapatalk
It seemingly appears that way. From what I can glean on here, Alonso was rated one of the best and I believe even the great MS feared him, and he rates Lewis as one of the greatest. Personally I try not to fly in the face of such statements, there again some seem to like to, for whatever bizarre reasons. http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/25017144/fernando-alonso-lewis-hamilton-one-greatest-all
You realise paid interviews occur for many reasons, and are commonplace? My sarcasm was aimed at Gerhardt maybe feeling a little irrelevant these days, and so maybe his comments are more designed to wake up interest in what he has to say, than the quality of the comments made. I haven’t heard anyone in the paddock speak of Elton in the hushed tones reserved for Schumi, nor for Senna, nor for various other TRUE great drivers. He is of course considered a good driver, one of the best of the current crop, but that doesn’t really say much, and his issues in overcoming journeymen like Button or Rosberg doesn’t lend itself to comparison with greats who DESTROYED their competition in their prime years, and set targets in lap time and performances that no one could get close too even in the same machinery race after race, year after year. Trying to measure the pilot of the most dominant car in history, blessed with the bias inferred upon the teams clear number one, against drivers that performed at a higher level than their peers by such a margin as it was almost god-like is actually to reduce those drivers, not promote Elton, because he isn’t fit to lick their boots
