FIA president Jean Todt has claimed Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes has done a “better job” than Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari.
This year saw the German manufacturer surpass the Italian team’s period of dominance in the early 2000s by winning a sixth straight double championship success.
Interestingly, the stats show that since 2014, Mercedes has won 89 of 121 races (73%) compared to Ferrari’s 63 of 81 races (77%) between 1999-2004.
But Todt, who was team boss at Maranello during that time, still believes the Brackley-based team has been superior.
“I have to admit that they have done a better job,” GrandPrix247 quoted the Frenchman at the FIA prize-giving gala. “They’ve been remarkable.
“It’s like an athlete has to lift 200 kilos – and then hold it up. You need a great driver, a great car and a great team, and if you do not have those three things then it can not work.”
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Toro Rosso chief Franz Tost agreed, simply telling Germany’s Auto Bild: “Mercedes is the best team ever.
“Better than McLaren-Honda in the days of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost and more dominant than Ferrari in the Michael Schumacher era.”