Is Lewis Hamilton the greatest of all time, why or why not?

Hamilton would only put the debate if he is the greatest if he bothered to get out of his comfort zone in merc and get results in Ferrari or another team.

Till then it’s only speculation and opinion.

 

I think you are right. Michael is not Mario.... he's a bit .... Arrogant - so he should fit right in with F1.

 

I don't know Gene Haas personally but know folks who have worked with him and have done lots of deals with him, and from them its pretty clear he does not make bad investment decisions...so I think Haas made the decision that F1 is another income stream, and for that to remain viable he can only invest x amount each year, which is less than what they get from the FOM.... so Steiner's job is to source the other money to be competitive.

F-1 has not been a money pit since they limited the number of teams to 10, and divided up the money... its an actual business case now... but you have to be disciplined on not spending all you make... Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, etc... can spend all they can.. because there is another income stream greater ... but even then they run it like a business, its not because Piero and Exor like racing.

 

Lol.
Arrogance is not enough to have success in Formula one !

 

Ha! you are right... its all part of the show.

 

That's cool, just thought it would be great to hear any stories from folks who saw Fangio in action.

 

This is exactly what Hamilton did when he left his championship team McLaren for what was an unproven and none winning team at MB. At the time people questioned if Lewis was crazy? When a driver makes a big jump sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't (Alonso) but you have to give Lewis credit for taking the chance and winning championships at more then one team (unlike Vettels 4 at Red Bull).

 

So.....do you actually think it was just luck?
I prefer to believe there was serious discussion and consideration involved in Lewis' decision to move.

Part of what makes a great......intelligence.

 

Put "the debate" where? I've never seen or heard Lewis stating rhat.
I don't know what you've ever competed in, but when you want to win, you don't play silly games such as "look how special I am......".
You do what it takes to win, not fool around.

 

Case of Emmerson Fittipaldi or Jacques Villeneuve ...

 

I don't think he cares, and I don't blame him.

 

History tells me that Hamilton is not a risk taker. Starting with his contract with McLaren when he was just 13 (I think), gave him the comfortable support needed to race with minimal stress. I have no idea about the financial details or the McLaren connections, but I'm sure that was helpful to his junior career. I don't think it was luck that McLaren brought him into F1 the same year that McLaren played out their huge espionage scandal that brought them back to being a championship contending team. It wasn't luck that a rookie started his F1 career with equal status against a 2x defending champion. I don't think it's luck that Lewis' McLaren went from one of the worst cars on the grid in 2009 to one of the best in just a matter of weeks.

As for his decision to leave McLaren and go to Mercedes, I don't think that was luck in how it played out either. I believe during the negotiations he was told about Mercedes developing their hybrid car years in advance, someone that would be the backbone to their success in the hybrid era. Did he know of a possible split between McLaren and Mercedes at that time? Maybe. Say what you want about Lewis, he is a smart guy and he knows how to put himself in the best position to benefit himself. I don't think he would leave McLaren for a worse team unless he knew Mercedes had something up their sleeve. I doubt he could have anticipated just how dominant Mercedes was, but I'm sure he was confident that Mercedes was going to give him his best chances of winning. And Lewis did his part to be in a position of extreme leverage. "You want me to drive for you, what will you bring to the table? How good will your car be?"

 

This thread is the debate? No?

 

Schumacher jumped to Ferrari when he’s winning in Benetton to a team that had not won a championship in many years and didn’t look like it’ll be anytime soon.

 

Hence he’s not the greatest..

 

Maclaren wasn’t winning at the time

 

It looks like he is doing everything wrong for you.

 

nah, i like his racing grits..
just not his and the team whining and hypocritical nature

 

Neither was MB

 

Yep. No lose situation. Safe bet

 

Funny no one replied to my effort to put the entire debate to bed once and for all -

"GOAT" is the problem. Your mom might be the “greatest” at making cookies of all time, so this is why emotional words like best or greatest don't work for F1 driver classification.

Without any argument, the most “successful” driver in F1.... is the only man with over 100 wins because he has been competitive for the most seasons (in a young mans sport), picked the best teams as he planned his career, and won the most races. Now you can go back to telling us which driver you have a emotional attachment to. I played golf with Nigel Mansell when he moved to my home town after winning both F1 and Indy car championship (back when Indy wasn't a spec series) so he's the Best or Greatest in my book just like my mom gives the best and greatest hugs. Doesn't change the fact that Lewis won more races then Mansell and Prost combined, or Prost and Senna combined. Lewis is still the most successful man in the history of F1. Beyond that, this thread can be continued by telling us who is your best or greatest driver's emotional attachment.... based on driving style, personality, engineering knowledge, emotional crush, off track behavior, or brand loyalty...etc

 

Because no effort will ever put the debate to end.

The best or greatest is a very subjective term and in many many cases it is a popularity contest more than anything. But there are ways to defend an opinion with credible evidence.

Lewis is the most successful driver, can't be denied when you look at the marque figures like poles, wins, and championships. This is what most people use to defend their claim to him being the best or greatest. The debate gets more interesting when someone asks why Lewis is the most successful driver.

 

We never used to hear of GOAT years ago.
I think the concept came from America, to celebrate some of their ball players, or was it boxing then? I can't remember.
But I never heard it about F1 until this century, and I think it's absolutely inapproriate in a sport that evolved so much over the years.
We can only assess a driver by its success, because it's measurable. Greatness is totally subjective, more an appreciation of character than anything. .
In fact, some are quite successful in their field of activity, and not great at all !!!

 

This is mostly done by people who wish to denigrate him.

 

I'm sure that's true in a lot of cases. I'm also sure there are those that want to defend their guy because it's their favorite driver but have no real basis.