Where Lando Norris ranks Lewis Hamilton among all-time Formula 1 greats

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Lewis Hamilton may be a seven-time Formula 1 world champion, but critics have questioned him throughout his career. Some feel he was simply fortunate to drive a dominant car between 2014 and 2020.

To an extent, that’s true. In most of those seasons, he only had to beat his teammate if he wanted to become world champion, with Mercedes in a different league to the rest of the field.

Nico Rosberg was an elite driver, as he showed up against Michael Schumacher. But Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton’s partner from 2017 until the end of 2021, clearly didn’t have the speed to contend with him.

Still, it’s worth remembering that Hamilton took a major gamble by joining the Silver Arrows in the first place. When he agreed the move at the end of 2012, Mercedes were fifth in the standings, more than 300 points off champions Red Bull and nearly 250 behind McLaren.

But Hamilton believed that they were best placed to capitalise on the shift to V6 turbo/hybrid engines, and it proved to be a career-defining masterstroke. Ferrari were the only team who challenged them before the end of the decade, but the Briton arguably reached his peak in 2017 and 2018 to see off Sebastian Vettel.

Many would argue there isn’t a significant talent differential between Fernando Alonso (two world championships) and Hamilton (seven). But placing faith in the right teams is a vital part of being an F1 driver.

Lando Norris names Lewis Hamilton as one of the top three F1 drivers ever

During a recent video on the official F1 YouTube channel, the drivers were asked to choose their all-time top three. Perhaps surprisingly given his unparalleled record, only five of them named Hamilton.

That list included Mercedes teammate George Russell and future Ferrari partner Charles Leclerc. Esteban Ocon, who worked with Hamilton up close during his time as Mercedes reserve driver, also selected him, as did as RB’s Yuki Tsunoda.

Lando Norris named Hamilton too, though he conceded that he was only picking from modern options. He was the only driver to include Max Verstappen, whom he’s battled for the F1 title this year.

“I don’t know about the old guys,” said Norris. “I didn’t witness any of them. I’ll just have to go with the ones I know… Lewis Hamilton.”

Who makes Max Verstappen’s all-time top five?

At times, Norris has been somewhat hostile to Hamilton. Speaking to outlets including ESPN in 2020, he downplayed the achievement of breaking Michael Schumacher’s 91-win record.

“He’s in a car which should win every race, basically,” he said. “He has to beat one or two other drivers, that’s it.”

Norris later apologised for those comments and seems to have gained more respect for his compatriot in recent years. Indeed, Norris admitted he wasn’t at Hamilton’s level back in July.

Verstappen’s all-time top five features the 39-year-old, his great adversary in 2021. He also went with Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Juan Manuel Fangio and Alonso.