James Allison, Mercedes AMG Petronas Technical Director, has expressed that Lewis Hamilton stands out among Formula 1 Drivers due to his ‘utterly unblemished‘ record, which he has set.
Hamilton, now stands at six Formula 1 World Championship titles, recently taking the 2019 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. He is now one of the most decorated drivers ahead of the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg.
Allison, who has also worked at Scuderia Ferrari, Benetton F1 Team and Renault Sport F1 Team, explained how he has worked alongside previous World Champions such as Michael Schumacher, Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso.
“I’ve been lucky to work with people who have had the highest integrity. I do think that is a characteristic that marks out Lewis,“
Allison praised the six-time-world-champion, as he explained it is rare that Hamilton will make a mistake on track with the Brit rarely accused of dangerous driving in an unsporting manner on track, during his time in Formula 1.
“I think he’s one of the oldest drivers on the grid now, still drives like one of the youngest, but he in a career of multiple championships and countless wins, you’ll struggle to find a moment on the track where you see Lewis do something ugly.
“You’ll see him do many, many breathtaking things, you’ll see him do brave things. But you won’t see just crude, dodgem car, bumper car stuff, or any sort of artifice to the way he drives.
“I hope he manages to keep this going for the remainder of his driving career, because it’s an utterly unblemished record.
“I think amongst multiple world champions, it is also unprecedented to have all that success without anything that has even a hint of a shadow of poor sportsmanship hanging over it. I think it’s impressive.“
Allison also talked of how Hamilton fares in qualifying, suggesting he is one of the best at qualifying as Hamilton has held the record for most pole positions since the 2017 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix, where he surpassed Schumacher.
He added, that it is impressive that Hamilton still seems to be at the peak of performance despite being one of the oldest drivers on the grid.
“There comes a time where the driver’s racecraft is still incredibly strong, but that last little extra special something that still gives them the qualifying genius starts to slip through their fingers,
“One of the interesting things about Lewis is that’s still very much with him.
“He is blessed with extraordinary physical talents to go along with his mental dedication that is quite freakish.”
