It is not that he doesn’t want to answer the question. At the age of 86, Murray Walker still loves to talk motorsport.
And, boy, can he talk.
It’s more the case that the king of commentary is weighing the pros and cons, sifting through his formidable memory banks, before delivering the definitive verdict.
But then, he pounces, faster than a Formula 1 start.
“Lewis Hamilton,” he says.
“He will edge the 2010 season, despite close competition from the likes of Jenson Button, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso.
“In fact, Lewis Hamilton could go on to be the greatest of all time.”
“I know that’s a very big statement when you think of people like Michael Schumacher, who has been world champion for a record seven times. You think of Juan Manuel Fangio, who won it five times.”
“Having Lewis and Jenson in the same team this year is going to be very, very, very interesting,” he says.
“If you are in a team of two drivers, the first person that you have to beat is your own team-mate. He is the only other person who has got the same equipment, the same back-up, the same mechanics, the same telemetry, the same tyre people, the same everything as you.
“So if you can’t beat him, then you might as well go home.
“Now we’ve seen the protestations of undying loyalty and friendship between Lewis and Jenson.
“So were Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost when they started. So were Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet when they started.”
“I would be surprised if, at the end of the 2010 season, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button are quite as matey with each other, and are as complimentary about each other, as they appear to be now.”
“Both Lewis and Jenson will be trying to do that. If you put me against the wall and said: ‘No prevarication, Murray, which one of them is going to be the winner?’ then I’d instinctively say: Lewis Hamilton.”
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