Jeremy Clarkson has aimed a brutal dig at Lewis Hamilton as he snubbed the Mercedes driver and Formula One legend Michael Schumacher when naming the greatest driver of all time.
For years, Formula One fans have debated who is the greatest driver ever to compete in the sport, with several drivers all having a viable claim to the title.
Mercedes driver Hamilton and ex-driver and legend of the sport Schumacher are often the two most popular picks in the GOAT debate as the two men share the record for the most championship titles, having won seven each.
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However, popular broadcaster Clarkson snubbed both men as he weighed in on the goat debate.
Last weekend, reigning champions Max Verstappen all but confirmed that he would once again win the title this year after producing an incredible comeback at the Brazilian Grand Prix, and Clarkson believes this may make him the GOAT.
Writing in The Sun, Clarkson said: “We learned two important things during last weekend’s Grand Prix in Brazil.
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“First of all, Max Verstappen is one of the all-time greats.
“He may even be the greatest driver we’ve ever seen.
“And second, Lewis Hamilton is past his prime.
“He blamed his car for his tail-end qualifying session but his team mate, George Russell, was on the front row.
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“Of course it’s possible that because Lewis is moving to Ferrari next year, the team are filling his fuel tank with lemon barley water instead of petrol.
“But that seems unlikely.
“It’s far more probable that he’s now too old.”
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Despite starting the race in 17th, Verstappen came back to win the Grand Prix in Sao Paulo, extending his lead over rival Lando Norris in the championship standings to 62 points.
Meanwhile Hamilton is just seventh in the standings and finished the Brazil GP in 10th.
With just three Grand Prix and one sprint race left in the 2024 season, it is highly unlikely that Norris will be able to mount a comeback to overtake Verstappen and claim this year's title.
The Englishman would need to score at least 16 points more than the Red Bull driver in each race weekend if he hopes to win his first championship title.
Topics: F1, Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Michael Schumacher
Ben McCrum