Hamilton better than Schumacher and Senna? "I don't know"

Lewis Hamilton has been the most successful F1 driver of all time since last season. There is no arguing about that anymore. He has won the most Grands Prix, was on pole position the most times and now has as many world titles as Michael Schumacher. But is he also the best driver of all time?

"I don't know," said Jacques Villeneuve when asked by Corriere della Sera if he is better than Schumacher and Senna. "Michael and Ayrton won with cars that were not meant to win, in complicated situations, without the support of the team. Lewis, on the other hand, has always dominated with the best equipment and with internal support. We should see him without these two conditions".

It is indeed true that no team has ever been as dominant as Mercedes in the period that Lewis Hamilton drives there. Even in Michael Schumacher's dominant period, there were only two seasons that compare to this (2002 and 2004). It is also true that Hamilton has had a winning car at his disposal from the beginning of his career.

Is Villeneuve right?

Still, you would be selling the Briton short if you argue that he has only won races with the best car. From 2009 to 2013 that was certainly not the case and even then Hamilton won at least one Grand Prix in every season.

Thanks to his latest win in Bahrain, Hamilton has therefore equalled one of Schumacher's records once again. Both champions have now won a Grand Prix in fifteen consecutive seasons. That puts them in a unique position. Alain Prost is in third place with ten seasons.