Racing

Lewis moves into the pantheon of the gods

05 November 2017 - 00:37 By espn.com

Formula One sporting boss Ross Brawn believes Lewis Hamilton can be classed among the all-time greats in the sport after his title triumph at last weekend's Mexican Grand Prix.
Hamilton clinched his fourth drivers' title in Mexico with a recovery drive to ninth, after clashing with rival Sebastian Vettel on the opening lap.
The Mercedes driver has joined an exclusive club of just five drivers in Formula One history to win four or more titles - alongside Vettel, Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost and Juan Manuel Fangio - while he has also become Britain's most successful driver.
Brawn has been particularly impressed by Hamilton's performances this season, in which he has broken Schumacher's pole position record, as well as taking nine race victories so far to move himself clear in second place in the list of most grand prix wins with 62, 29 shy of Schumacher's record."Lewis deserved this title, the fourth of his incredible career. For much of the season he was chasing the leader, but after the summer break he found another gear," Brawn said.
"It's not just a fourth title that promotes Lewis to the level of the greatest in our sport, the Schumachers, Sennas and Fangios. It's the way he drove this year that really impressed me, especially in recent races. Even when his car was not at 100% he was able to produce some amazing drives, so really, congratulations to him for a superb achievement."
Brawn backed his former team Ferrari to recover from the disappointment of being beaten to both world championships and bounce back in 2018, after becoming the first team to threaten Mercedes, which has dominated the sport since 2014, in a title fight
"Congratulations also go to Sebastian, who was a worthy opponent," he said...

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