Since taking his fourth title Hamilton has been continually questioned about his ambition to match the likes of Juan Manuel Fangio on five titles and Michael Schumacher on seven and has conceded the German’s all-time title record could be out of his reach but hasn’t ruled out equalling Fangio.
Hakkinen says after securing his two F1 titles in 1998 and 1999 he gave it everything for a third consecutive crown only to lose out to Schumacher and admits his hunger levels dropped before his retirement from the sport at the end of 2001.
“Lewis’ achievement in winning four World Championship titles is impressive, and you can see that he has kept the hunger alive, that is critical,” Hakkinen said on his Unibet blog. “When I won both my World Championships in 1998 and 1999 I went into 2000 absolutely determined to win a third title, but it was not to be.
The four-time F1 world champion’s existing contract ties him to the German manufacturer until the end of the 2018 season but he had previously voiced interest in switching to teams in order to become just the second driver in history after Fangio to win titles with three different manufacturers.
But with Ferrari securing Sebastian Vettel until the end of 2020 and Red Bull also signing Max Verstappen on a long-term deal his options elsewhere have dried up.
“Max Verstappen was the standout driver of the season because he is so exciting to watch,” he said. “The two wins in Malaysia and Mexico showed that both he and the team have been getting stronger, and with Daniel Ricciardo winning in Baku, it means Ferrari and Mercedes could never relax.”
Source: Beyondtheflag