Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes Lewis Hamilton “deserves” to be the greatest of all time with eight F1 world titles. Hamilton lost the 2021 championship to Max Verstappen by a few seconds and, as a result, remained tied with Michael Schumacher for the most number of F1 championships.
Hamilton and Schumacher are the only two drivers with seven F1 titles at their helm. With Schumacher retired from the sport, over a decade ago, the 2021 title could have made the British driver the best driver in Formula 1. However, Abu Dhabi had other ideas.
While the Mercedes star is statistically the most successful F1 driver to have graced the sport, some fans regard Schumacher as the greatest of all time.
Under such a scenario, Hamilton’s eighth title could have put an end to the discussion, according to $1.6 billion worth Toto Wolff (according to Forbes). Speaking in an episode of the High Performance podcast, he said (as quoted by RacingNews365):
“There’s definitely a moment every week that I think about it. But I mainly think about it because I think Lewis deserved to be the greatest of all time with eight world championship titles. You can keep arguing about that year, but I think Max and Lewis were both deserving champions,” Wolff said.
“There were times during that year when Max lost points that he shouldn’t have lost. You look at Silverstone and the crash at Monza that the two of them had. They were both deserving champions on that particular afternoon in Abu Dhabi, but it was unfair,” he added.
Hamilton and Verstappen entered the season finale in Abu Dhabi with equal 369.5 points and in a ‘winner takes it all’ situation. Amid this, the Mercedes driver fell prey to a safety car situation in the penultimate lap against Verstappen with a fresher tire. In the end, the Red Bull driver pipped his Mercedes counterpart and claimed the title.
Lewis Hamilton opened up on his 2021 championship loss
Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 Team, Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance at the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi – Source: Getty Images
Following his 2021 title loss, Lewis Hamilton claimed that he was ‘robbed’ of the title three years ago. Speaking about this in an interview with GQ earlier this year, the British driver shared the rollercoaster of a ride he went through following the loss (as quoted by Motorinside.com):
“Have I been robbed?” Obviously. I mean, you know the story. But I think what was really beautiful at that time, and what I remember from it, is that my father was with me. And we went through these enormous roller coasters of life together,” Hamilton said.
Several F1 fans and experts felt that Michael Masi’s wrong safety car call cost Lewis Hamilton his eighth title. Even though the FIA removed Masi weeks after the incident in Abu Dhabi, the decision remains controversial.
As of 2024, Max Verstappen extended his Championship to three and is on his way to claiming the fourth, whereas Hamilton could not pose any further title challenges.
Edited by Shirsh