Damon Hill believes it is obvious that Lewis Hamilton is Britain’s greatest ever racing driver.
The 34-year-old is mere weeks away from securing a sixth Formula 1 world title and is close to if not already ahead of many of Michael Schumacher’s achievements.
However, while most tend to brush that off as a consequence of Mercedes’ superiority since 2014, the 1996 world champion says his talent shouldn’t be overlooked.
“It should be self-evident that Lewis is the greatest racer we’ve ever produced,” Hill told the Daily Mail.
“One more to go after this one and he has equalled Schumacher [with seven F1 titles], which was considered to be almost unreachable.
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“Year-in and year-out, he has delivered against all comers in all situations and he has got this down to a fine art now, the way he goes about it.
“He has matured in every respect. He is properly formidable as a competitor. He is probably at the height of his powers and he knows it and he is relaxed about it.”
Hamilton is also known as one of F1’s most divisive figures for his off-track lifestyle while his career doesn’t get the mainstream attention of other sports.
“Perhaps he doesn’t get the wider credit he deserves but that is a problem with our sport,” Hill suggested.
“I don’t think it’s Lewis’s fault. I wonder if it’s the sport itself that has drifted away from the centre of attention.
“The fanbase is still there in the UK but the viewership globally, a lot of people moved away from it when Michael was winning everything.”