F1: ‘greatest British racer ever’ Lewis Hamilton deserves more credit, says Damon Hill

Hill: Hamilton deserves more credit

Lewis Hamilton may be on the verge of winning a sixth Formula 1 world championship but the British ace does not get the credit he deserves.

That’s the opinion of Damon Hill, himself an F1 world champion with Williams in 1996, who also says that Hamilton is the best racer the UK has ever produced.

Hamilton currently leads by 64 points in 2019 drivers’ standings ahead of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas. The duo are now the only drivers who can win the title after helping the Silver Arrows secure a record sixth successive constructors’ championship last weekend in Japan.

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In an interview with the Daily Mail Hill praised Hamilton for his success in F1. He said: “It should be self-evident that Lewis is the greatest racer we’ve ever produced. One more [title] to go after this one and he has equalled [seven-time winner Michael] Schumacher, which was considered to be almost unreachable.

“Year-in and year-out, he has delivered against all comers in all situations and he has got this down to a fine art now, the way he goes about it. He has matured in every respect. He is properly formidable as a competitor. He is probably at the height of his powers and he knows it and he is relaxed about it.”

Hill added: “Perhaps he doesn’t get the wider credit he deserves but that is a problem with our sport. I don’t think it’s Lewis’s fault. I wonder if it’s the sport itself that has drifted away from the centre of attention.

“The fanbase is still there in the UK but the viewership globally, a lot of people moved away from it when Michael was winning everything.”

Leclerc ‘very lucky’ to be team-mates with Vettel

Planet F1 reports that Charles Leclerc feels “very lucky” to have team-mate Sebastian Vettel next to him at Ferrari.

Lerclerc has been tipped to become Ferrari’s No.1 driver in 2020 ahead of Vettel, who is a four-time world champion from his days at Red Bull.

However, when asked about Ferrari’s plans for next season the 21-year-old Leclerc said: “I’ve got no idea, but Sebastian has won four world championships, I haven’t won any.

“I believe he has a lot of experience. He’s very quick, very strong, I’m learning a lot from him and then at the end [of the season] we will see, it’s not me making the decision who is number one or number two.

“At the moment I am happy like this and very lucky to have Seb next to me.”

Mexico up next

The next race will be the F1 Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday 27 October at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.

There are only four races left in the 2019 season:

• 27 October: Mexican GP (7.10pm start UK time)
• 3 November: United States GP (7.10pm)
• 17 November: Brazilian GP (5.10pm)
• 1 December: Abu Dhabi GP (1.10pm)