Prost: Hamilton's commitment to Mercedes reason for F1 dominance
- Published on 24 Aug 2020 16:12
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- By: Coilin Higgins
Former F1 champion Alain Prost has claimed the reason behind Mercedes' long dominance in recent years is down to its champion driver, Lewis Hamilton and his commitment to the team.
Prost, a four-time champion with McLaren and Williams in the '80s and '90s. said it is comparable to Michael Schumacher's dominance with Ferrari in the early 2000s because of the same reason.
Hamilton has won five of his six championships with Mercedes between 2014-2019, missing out only to teammate Nico Rosberg in 2016 after a tense season-long battle between the teammates.
Since Hamiltons move to Mercedes from McLaren in 2013, the team has won every constructors title up until last year, with both Hamilton and Mercedes the favourites to take another championship this year.
Should Hamilton take his seventh championship this year, it will tie him with Schumacher for the record at seven world titles.
"It is unbelievable what Lewis has done," Prost told PA News.
"But you can only do that if you have a long domination and a long-term commitment with a team.
"When Michael did it, we all thought it would not be possible to beat his records because of how modern Formula 1 is. But we now have a period of domination with Lewis and Mercedes.
"You can compare the dominance of Ferrari and Michael and Mercedes and Lewis because it is basically the same story.
"You have a perfect organisation with key people in the team and a number one and a number two driver.
"Psychologically you have a very stable situation which puts you in a very strong position.
"Sometimes people don’t realise what Lewis is doing because he has produced some exceptional laps, but he can only do that because he is comfortable in the team, confident with the team, and that can help you find the last tenths of a second."
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Replies (8)
Login to replyajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
I've always felt that utterly dominant cars mask performance excellence but also mediocrity. I felt the se way with Schumacher during the Ferrari dominance. Clearly Michael was special, but it's also true that any top driver would have won in that Ferrari. It's similar if not more so, with Mercedes. That doesn't mean Lewis is not doing an outstanding job, but it hard to tell how much is Mercedes superiority and how much his driving. Because there are no on close battles. Margins are too large
Manto02
Posts: 93
You know the difference? Hamilton has 92 poles and 88 wins, Schumacher has 68 poles and 91 wins. This clearly shows who between the two is the driver that really gave everything even in bad cars
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
that's the thing though, Schumi didn't always have dominant cars, and he could still win. Hammy has had 6 years in mostly very dominant cars.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
@Manto relying solely on stats is a fool's errand. On paper, Seb is the third best driver in history ahead of Prost, Senna, Lauda &co. I don't think many people would agree with that.
With regards to the Schumacher/Hamilton comparison... You need to understand that Lewis has always had a car capable of winning races. @Calle Lewis hasn't always had a dominant car, but he's definitely had one longer than Michael did.
I've said it before, I am much more impressed by what Michael did in the 90's with Benetton and Ferrari, than his 5 consecutive championships in the 2000's. Likewise, with Lewis from 2007-2013, although extra points for 2014-2016 because Lewis actually had to work hard to win vs Rosberg. Schumacher never once in his first career have a teammate that challenged him.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
those seasons and 2003, mind. That season was awesome.
Manto02
Posts: 93
Maybe I was mistaken, what I meant is that Hamilton had an easier time with the cars, which is confirmed by the pole number, but schumy could win even in bad cars, confirmed by the lower poles, so imo schumy is better
aimazlan
Posts: 1
1. Michael brought with him his own team in Jean Todt, Ross Brawn, Rory Bryne and maybe other backroom staffs. He had perfect environment too.
2. He had special Bridgestone tyres just for him. Unlimited testing.
3. Clear No 1 & No 2 driver in contracts. Never had team mate to challenge him. Lewis lost many poles & wins to Rosberg, Bottas & Alonso.
Pistonhead
Posts: 556
100%. Schumacher had tyres others teams weren't even allowed to look at. Sorry folks, he was bloody god but don't let the rose tinted glasses hide the fact he deck was loaded in his favour for many a year.