“If Lewis wants to chase history he will probably”- Nigel Mansell is confident of Hamilton winning the titles in the following seasons.
Speaking to British news outlet The Daily Mail, former F1 champion Nigel Mansell expressed faith in the abilities of the current world champion Lewis Hamilton and expected him to achieve further glory.
He also had his say on the never-ending rumours linking him to Mercedes’ bitter rivals Ferrari – “If Lewis wants to chase history he will probably find Mercedes is more stable now.”
Speaking in length about the 80s and 90s era of F1 racing – which involved tragic incidents like Ayrton Senna’s death and Niki Lauda’s freak accident – he believes that Hamilton would have handled himself well racing then too.
“Lewis would have done well in those circumstances, but it is very, very difficult to compare eras”. He expressed confidence in his compatriot winning the Driver’s Championship this season.
That would take Hamilton’s tally to 7, equaling Michael’s Schumacher’s feat. According to Mansell, he is already the greatest British F1 racer in history.
He had this to say when asked if Hamilton could be considered the greatest of all time – “I always say Fangio because those who drove in that era — and I think Lewis would agree — were the true heroes because they had no seat belts, no proper helmets, no proper goggles and at times no gloves.”
Nigel Mansell compared Hamilton to German legend Michael Schumacher, saying that both received support from their constructors, and they did extremely well to keep themselves focused – “Lewis just has to keep his feet on the ground, make his own decisions, and be happy with them.”
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Hamilton is vying for his seventh title this season, with the first race beginning in three weeks’ time. It will be intriguing to see if he can keep ahead of the likes of Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel, and equal Schumacher’s record, undoubtedly the greatest modern-day F1 racer.
