Sir Jackie Stewart has delivered a damning verdict on Lewis Hamilton’s record-breaking exploits by suggesting the five-time world champ is "a very lucky boy".
As F1 rolls into China for an historic 1,000th Grand Prix this weekend, Hamilton is arguably the sport’s biggest attraction.
The Brit, winner of the last race in Bahrain, has romped to four world titles in the last five years, adding to the maiden triumph he clinched back in 2008 with McLaren.
Hamilton has the most pole positions in F1 history and is just two titles short of equalling the unrivalled Michael Schumacher ’s record of seven crowns.
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But legendary Scot Stewart, a three-time world champ, says Hamilton is a tad fortunate that he is Britain’s most successful driver with 74 race wins.
He told Mirror Sport: “Mercedes have committed such a lot of money, and have secured so many talented engineers and specialists.
“Thousands of people working for them to make Hamilton and (Valtteri) Bottas drive cars that are, again, considerably better and faster than Ferrari or any other competitors.
“We need that to change. We need Red Bull. We need Ferrari. We need some of the new teams to come up and seriously be competitive.
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“The financial support they have had is probably well above any of the other teams including Ferrari or Red Bull. They’ve not only got a fantastic car and chassis, but they’ve got a fantastic power unit.
“Lewis is a very lucky boy to be in a position to have such enormous support behind him.”
Hamilton’s move to Mercedes in 2013 coincided with the introduction of turbo-hybrid engines a year later, and Mercedes have won every title since.
And Stewart, an F1 icon of the 60s and 70s, reckons Hamilton should thank his lucky stars that he timed his switch to the big-spending Silver Arrows perfectly.
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He added: “I think he again has a very good chance of winning because the other teams just don’t have the performance or the reliability that Mercedes have.
“That’s why there have been so many multiple Grands Prix victories and world champions now because the car has to be fast, but it’s also got to be reliable.
“To finish first, first you must finish.
“What Lewis has done is moved at the right time to Mercedes. Of course he’s a very good driver. But is he better than Sebastian Vettel?
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“Or as good as Fernando Alonso, Alain Prost, Jim Clark, Ayrton Senna, Schumacher or Jackie Stewart were? Who knows? You can’t really judge that.”
The Flying Scot also reflected on his own stunning career which saw him clinch three world titles in nine seasons behind the wheel.
He drove during one of the deadliest eras of motor racing, seeing close friends including fellow Brit Jim Clark tragically lose their lives.
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“I look back with happy memories and of course with sad losses," he added. “When you consider the number of friends that I have lost.
“I’ve told people before but when I was driving, motor racing was dangerous and sex was safe.
“I had pleasure driving and many good memories but obviously sad memories because of the number of people we lost during that period of racing.”
