Lewis Hamilton has established himself as one of the greatest drivers of all time, and F1 legend Sir Jackie Stewart agrees to the same. With 103 wins and seven World championships to his name, Lewis Hamilton has rewritten history books several times over his F1 career. However, Stewart commented in an interview with the German publication Sport.de that Hamilton’s championship defeat in 2016 to Nico Rosberg was not a good look because the German wasn’t the most talented driver ever to grace the sport.
The 2016 season was one of the most competitive seasons in the recent history of F1. Both of the Mercedes drivers went wheel to wheel against each other throughout the season which was filled with controversy. The title fight went on till the last race of the season, with Rosberg leading the standings by 12 points.
📻: “NICO HIT ME!” #OnThisDay in 2014 marks one of the defining moments that kicked off the epic Rosberg vs. Hamilton rivalry 😅🥊#F1 pic.twitter.com/fRmEzKWuLf
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 24, 2023
Even though Hamilton led the race from the start and managed to win, it wasn’t enough as Rosberg won the title with a second place finish. However, as per Stewart, Hamilton lost out to his teammate simply because he didn’t have enough hunger.
Rosberg isn’t one of the most talented drivers to have graced the sport as per Stewart
In an interview with Sport.de, as quoted by FormulaPassion, Stewart commented that Hamilton is indeed one of the greatest of all times. He managed to dominate his teammate and win the internal duel at Mercedes every year except for the 2016 season.
The 84 year old Scottish driver said, “In 2016 he lost to Nico Rosberg, who with all due respect, was a good driver, but not the most talented in the world. He was simply hungrier than him and had an unconditional will to become world champion, unlike Lewis.”
“rosberg really driving well. hamilton has brought nico rosberg alive, hasn’t he? there is no doubt about it. nico is a different man this year.”
— 🕯️ (@judesrivers) August 30, 2023
Stewart also downplayed Hamilton’s dominance claiming that he was helped a lot by his team. As per the three time world champion, It might have been an entirely different story if Hamilton wasn’t driving for the Silver Arrows.
Car vs Driver debate engulfs Lewis Hamilton dominance
It is often debated that Hamilton could win six championships only because he had a car that was miles ahead of the competition. Stewart also believes that the untouchable Mercedes car played a major role in Hamilton’s dominance throughout those years.
He said, “It is also true that in the last decade he raced for Mercedes , a team that was practically out of competition compared to the others.”
However, it should be noted that apart from Rosberg, and that too on only one occasion, no other teammate could ever live up to Hamilton’s level of performance in Mercedes. Therefore, it is a matter to ponder upon, whether it was the car or the driver himself that led to the six championship wins.
