The most successful? Sure, but is Lewis Hamilton really the greatest of all time?


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And so we are finally there. Lewis Hamilton’s gallop through the record books has finally taken him to the very head of one of the most exclusive lists in world sport.

Win number 92 is one more than the mighty Michael Schumacher – and close to five entire seasons of winning.

There is some perspective to be had when you consider he has won as many races as the men fourth and fifth on the all-time list, combined: Ayrton Senna (51) and Alain Prost (41).

Interestingly his 92 wins exactly equals the combined career tallies of Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark, Sir Jackie Stewart and Stirling Moss. Few would argue all of those names sit comfortably with the moniker of 'legend'.

There are those who would argue one or other of them is the Greatest of All Time (GOAT). Hamilton has the same win total as the lot.

But how to compare Hamilton’s high-tech achievements with those of men racing 50 years before in open-faced helmets made of cork and shirt sleeves?

In those days there were less races in a season and the price of a mistake was usually far higher, if not fatal.

But for those who want to argue the case for Hamilton, the statistics are certainly there. He is only 10 wins short of the rest of the grid put together.

Barring disaster he will win this year’s championship to equal Schumacher’s seven and is favourite to be the first to make eight given car design is largely unchanged in 2021.

But ‘greatness’ is subjective. A win total is a matter of fact but what is ‘great’ to you may not be so to others.

I have long argued statistics are no automatic measure of greatness. Success, yes, but greatness? No.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton after his historic victory in Portugal on Sunday. PA
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton after his historic victory in Portugal on Sunday. PA

I have always refused to consider Schumacher for inclusion in my top five GOAT, or perhaps even top 10 because of the manner of his dominance.

He won in the best car, a car shared with one other driver who was contractually not given the same chance. And sometimes told to lose.

So Schumacher is champion of the ‘people called Michael Schumacher driving in a Ferrari’ championship. A one-man championship. Is that your measure of greatness?

There is a case to be put, though, that Schumacher is the best of all time He had remarkable skill and won races his cars should not have won.

Winning in the best car is certainly not one of my parameters of greatness.

Is Hamilton better than Schumacher? He has more wins, poles and championships but I doubt die-hard Schumacher fans would agree. Then again, he has less fastest race laps. So is he less of a race day technician? I doubt Hamilton’s legions would concede that.

But there are individual races that have the stamp of greatness. Schumacher finishing second at Spain in 1994 with only one gear was unquestionably one of them.

Hamilton’s victory in the rain from fourth at Silverstone in 2008, too. He lapped the entire field up to the two men on the podium. That it was done in lashing rain, the great equaliser, only amplifies the achievement.

Then there was his 2014 Bahrain duel with Nico Rosberg or another wet weather triumph from 14th in Germany two years ago.

But for me there are intangibles to being the greatest. There is no question about his talent but does that make him better than Stewart, racing in an era when at least nine of his colleagues died at the wheel? A man who put his own career on the line to improve the safety of the entire sport. Who got unsafe races cancelled, made the sport swap hay bales for crash barriers, insisted on ambulances at every race. And driven only by drivers who knew where the hospital was! Isn’t that greatness?

For most of his career Hamilton has avoided doing anything on safety unless cajoled by his peers but, like his hero Ayrton Senna, he must be admired for backing children's charities, pushing the vegetarian and environment agendas.

I am far from convinced that beating Valtteri Bottas (the only man with the same equipment) weekend after weekend is any measure of greatness, but Hamilton outdoing Fernando Alonso in his very first season says mountains more.

For me, like Hamilton, the GOAT is Senna. His ability, his humanity, his work for charity, the causes he led with passion, his demands for better safety in F1. I worked with the man in 1987 and covered his his entire career and no-one in F1 comes close. The driver was great but the man even greater.

If you want me to be honest there is a Hamilton who deserves greatness but it’s not Lewis - it’s his father, Anthony. To finance his son’s racing career in karting he held down four jobs at the same time. For years he would get the train home from work after dark, walk miles, post ‘For Sale’ signs outside people’s houses for the local estate agents to earn the crumbs to afford one new tyre. Or the price of a tank of fuel.

To me, that’s greatness.

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The candidates

Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive

Ali Azeem, business leader

Tony Booth, professor of education

Lord Browne, former BP chief executive

Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist

Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist

Dr Mark Mann, scientist

Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner

Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister

Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster

 

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES

SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities

Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails

Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies

Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments

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Bayern Munich v Tottenham, midnight (Thursday)

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Uefa Nations League

League A, Group 4
Spain v England, 10.45pm (UAE)

RESULT

Valencia 3

Kevin Gameiro 21', 51'

Ferran Torres 67'

Atlanta 4

Josip Llicic 3' (P), 43' (P), 71', 82'

The National's picks

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5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

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Rating: 4/5

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360Vuz PROFILE

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6.30pm: Baniyas Group 2 (PA) Dh 97,500 (Dirt) 1,400m.

7.05pm Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,200m

7.40pm Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,400m

8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,400m

8.50pm Rated Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,600m

9.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh 95,000 (D) 1,200m

10pm Handicap (TB) Dh 85,000 (D) 2,000m

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Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

Power: 727hp

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Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km

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Match info

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Serbia 1
Kolarov (56')

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Francesco Totti's bio

Born September 27, 1976

Position Attacking midifelder

Clubs played for (1) - Roma

Total seasons 24

First season 1992/93

Last season 2016/17

Appearances 786

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Titles (5) - Serie A 1; Italian Cup 2; Italian Supercup 2

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RESULTS

5pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m

Winner AF Nashrah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)

5.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m

Winner Mutaqadim, Riccardo Iacopini, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.

6pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner Hameem, Jose Santiago, Abdallah Al Hammadi.

6.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner AF Almomayaz, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

7pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m

Winner Dalil Al Carrere, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash.

7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m

Winner Lahmoom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.

8pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m

Winner Jayide Al Boraq, Bernardo Pinheiro, Khalifa Al Neyadi.

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