Lewis Hamilton has been on par with Michael Schumacher since last Sunday in terms of the number of career wins. However, the fact that most of the victories were won in a dominant Mercedes was the reason for Jackie Stewart to put that achievement into perspective.
That 'criticism' didn't quite go down well with Hamilton. Although he says he lost respect for the Scotsman to The Race, he says he would never express himself that way. "In 20 years time, whatever it is, when I’m looking back, I can promise you this, I will not be talking down any young driver that’s coming through and succeeding."
Hamilton wants to encourage successors
“I think, as an older driver, is to shine the light as bright as possible and encourage those. There’s gonna be someone else, whether it’s Max [Verstappen] or whoever it may be, who’s gonna be chasing the record that I eventually set and it’s the wrong kind of characteristic and approach to be hoping he doesn’t break it."
Should Verstappen indeed break his records, Hamilton will admire that in the future, too: “You should be encouraging them hoping they live to their full potential. And if that means them getting to that record, that’s amazing.”