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It takes one to know one, and Mika Hakkinen believes that Lewis Hamilton could be the greatest driver of all time. Michael Schumacher, seven times the Formula One world champion, rated Hakkinen as his biggest and most talented adversary.
The Finn won two world titles with the same McLaren Mercedes team who took Hamilton to his maiden World Championship last season. That has given Hakkinen a unique insight into the talent and character of a young man whose career has been laced with equal amounts of success and controversy.
Hakkinen, though, sees Hamilton behind the closed doors of the McLaren motorhome and likes what he sees. “You have got a good guy there,” he said. “Lewis is so talented and, better than that, he is a great guy with a great personality. He is going to be a great role model for kids around the world. I don’t think you could find a better guy than him anywhere.”
Hakkinen, who won his world titles in 1998 and 1999, has been impressed with Hamilton’s ability to cope under pressure despite making high-profile mistakes on his way to becoming the youngest ever F1 world champion this year.
Hakkinen, said: “He can be the best England has seen because he is a young guy and he has plenty of time to make this his goal.”
“He has a fantastic fitness programme and will have the energy for many, many years to maximise his performance. So I don’t see any reason why he can’t be the most successful.”
“For me, being part of a team was one of the most important aspects during my F1 career and it was great to see how it has been used to motivate young people.”
