I've no doubt that LH is head and shoulders better than everyone else on the grid, regardless of what he's driving. And he's not experiencing any diminishing of his abilities. He makes very few mistakes, and has maintained a reputation of being a 'clean' driver.
I have a pet theory that Ronnie O'Sullivan isn't a sportsman in that snooker is a game and not a sport. My criteria for differentiating a sport from a game? You need to wear special shoes for a sport, you don't for a game...
Ronnie and his fellow snooker players are, in my view, sportsmen. Besides being very skilled at the technical side, they have to be great tacticians, be physically fit (including supply for those long reach shots) and especially be mentally tough.
When Ronnie has been off on that last issue, he has always done poorly in comparison when he hasn't - but even then, his considerable (and unmatched) talents in the other categories have kept him in contention.
Whilst I agree that Lewis Hamilton is undoubtedly the best driver in the last deacde or so, it is difficult to say whether he is the best ever. Would he have had 7 world titles had all drivers been given the same equipment and pit lane backup - quite possibly, given he was driving for McLaren for a good few years when their cars weren't as good as the Ferraris and Red Bulls.
A comparison between either current drivers or those in the past is always difficult, as you can't compare them properly due to significant differences in technology, medical science/physical training available, the team budgets, differences in teams and other pressures or distractions such as the social scene.
One thing no in Hamilton's favour, especially amongst those (including chief sports writer for the DT, Oliver Brown) advocating (more like virtue-signalling) him being knighted is that he has not been the best ambassador for the sport (like Stirling Moss), not played a pivotal role in the safety side (as Jackie Stewart), and who changed his tune on politics to supporting certain 'activist groups' only after he was bullied into doing so by activists after a number of rather 'unflattering' comments.
He also had to apologise after he compared Stevenage to 'slums' (it ain't that bad) and amazingly never mentioning being racially abused in his home town, despite having numerous opportunities during his career, but then (if I recall) plucked non-specific incidents out of thin air when he had bent the knee to the activists to regain some sympathy after BLM had gained traction.
There's no denying the racism he suffered at the hands of some so-called 'fans' of some foreign rivals at their home race circuits, but of the offcials and of locals during his youth?
I remember him being involved in many 'racing incidients' in his first 7-8 years of F1 that rightly got him (and the other parties involved) hauled up in front of the martials. Jesnon Button didn't because he was more risk averse as a driver - I can remember Nigel Mansell and particularly Damon Hill also on the recieving end for similar 'manouvres'.
Certain drivers like Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg and more latterly Seb Vettel got away with thing far more often probably because, in my view, they all had better relations with Bernie Ecclestone and other F1 higher-ups, and two of them drove for Ferrari, who've always been (in my view) given a better ride by the sports administrators/regulators. Mansell and Hill would likely attest to that.
In my view, there has been a long thing against Brits in the sport (drivers and teams) since the mid 1970s, but the difference is that Hamilton had a bigger chip on his shoulder than many. Following Rosberg's title win and exit, I thought that Hamilton had mellowed - as evidenced by his significantly more mature driving style in dealing with rivals on the circuit, proven by him rarely being the cause of incidents rather than quite often (or at least 50:50) in previous years and contributed to him easily winning the title since. Until the last years events, I even thought he was making great strides in his off-circuit behaviour, putting behind some past issues.
Him going 'political' in the last year will, I believe, have an impact on him as a driver, but also on his standing amongst other drivers (which was on the up beforehand) and amongst F1 and his own fans. I've always supported him and other British drivers, but I think his (IMHO faux) activism to gain woke points has severely soured many fans' opinion of him, msyelf included.
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