Lewis Hamilton is one of the best drivers in modern F1 history and perhaps even the very best. However, he also owes much of his success to a dominant car and, according to
Daniel Ricciardo, perhaps a weak teammate.
In an interview with
Square Mile, the Australian is asked to what extent
Lewis Hamilton owes his records to his own qualities or the supremacy of
Mercedes. Ricciardo, aware that he can come across as unkind, answers as honestly as possible.
"To answer it diplomatically, I think Lewis isn’t the only one that could win races in that car. That’s obviously my opinion and I think that George Russell, in a way, showed the possibility of that by pretty much beating Valtteri [Bottas] in his first race. So you could argue that just maybe Lewis doesn’t have the strongest competition.” McLaren team-mate
Lando Norris had a similar remark last season when Hamilton scored his 92nd GP victory in Portugal, breaking
Michael Schumacher's record. The young Lando was criticised - especially on
social media - for this. He was even accused of racism by a 'famous' actress and so he later apologised for his statements.