Lewis Hamilton Is 'Disadvantaged' By Having The Best Car, Claims Former F1 Racer

Lewis Hamilton is "disadvantaged" by driving the "best car" in the field, not in regards to results but in reputation, former F1 racer Jan Lammers said.

Hamilton, who equaled Michael Schumacher’s record of seven Drivers’ Championship last season, defeated his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas by 124 points even though the Brit missed a race after testing positive for COVID-19.

With 11 wins, 14 podiums and 10 pole positions, Hamilton was once again on a different level in the previous edition.

Even after matching Schumacher’s feats that once looked impossible to replicate, Hamilton does not receive the respect that his numbers deserve. In an interview with Dutch media outlet De Telegraaf, Lammers explained the reason behind it.

"His disadvantage is that he has been driving the best car for years, so the viewer has a somewhat distorted view when you talk about his talent," said Lammers.

Six out of Hamilton's seven world titles have come with Mercedes and the U.K.-based F1 company are currently on a run of seven consecutive championship doubles. In five of those years, Mercedes were 1-2 in the Drivers’ standings. Hamilton clinched his maiden world title while driving for McLaren in 2008 and the win had made him the first British driver to win the World Championship since Damon Hill in 1996.

In the same interview, Lammers also mentioned that he is looking forward to seeing Red Bulls’ Max Verstappen challenge Hamilton for the title in the F1 2021 season, which is due to begin in less than two months. Last year, 23-year-old Verstappen finished third in the championship, having won just two Grands Prix.

"Of course I hope for a titanic battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen in Formula 1 this year," he added.

Since the teams will be racing their 2020 cars in the 2021 season and have been provided with little room to develop, many are predicting Hamilton to zoom away with yet another title. As of now, the 36-year-old world champion is without a contract as his deal with Mercedes expired in December last year.

While talks have been on between Hamilton and Mercedes over a new deal, both the parties have not been able to reach an agreement.

In an interview earlier, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said that he is certain that a new deal will be struck with Hamilton before the pre-season testing in March.

"We don't make life easy for them, of course, when we both argue over Zoom and keep sending curveballs to the lawyers. He's in America now and I'm here. At some point, we will finalize it (the deal). We have a really solid basis in our relationship. We have celebrated great successes together and want to continue doing so in the future. But sometimes you have to talk things out in detail, and that took or still takes us some time," added Wolff.

F1 2021’s pre-season testing is due to begin in Bahrain on March 12, with the season's first race at the same venue on March 28.