Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff is sad that Lewis Hamilton’s success is being overlooked by fans during his Formula 1 career.
For all that he has achieved, the Briton remains a very divisive figure for his lifestyle and his comments, including a recent uproar after comparing his hometown of Stevenage to “slums”.
As a result, Wolff believes that distracts from Hamilton’s on-track achievements which are putting him on course to be one of the greatest ever in history.
“Not everybody recognizes a great career, a great sportsman or greatness overall while it’s happening. There is a lot of negativity and envy whilst it happens,” the Austrian told Reuters.
“It’s only being recognized once a career has ended as having been really great and I don’t know why that is. We are extremely privileged in following a career of maybe the greatest racing driver of all time.
“Obviously Michael [Schumacher] has set the records and was unbelievable but Lewis is on a similar trajectory,” he claimed.
“Also with Michael, it was only recognized after he retired and even more when tragedy struck and I think it’s a pity.
“We are live spectators, live witnesses of a great racing driver at the peak of his abilities.”
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The Mercedes chief thinks the negative reaction is more of a European thing compared to American where he suggests Hamilton “inspires”.
But Toto wouldn’t want Lewis to change because he believes that is what makes him who he is.
“I am certainly biased because I have an emotional attachment to Lewis, for me the greatest sportsperson that is still competing in Britain,” he declared.
“Everybody wants to be recognized, particularly in their own country and in order to achieve the success he has, you need to be sensitive.
“He is that exceptional sports personality also because he polarizes and I think at the end of the day, he’s thinking that he’d rather polarize than be just in the middle and boring.
“He stays true to himself and his values and that is the most important thing.”