Lewis Hamilton’s record-equalling win at the Nurburgring was unquestionably a special moment in his career and for Formula One, but fans are divided on whether or not having the most grand prix wins – a record Hamilton will hold sooner or later – will make the Brit the best driver in the history of the sport.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff hasn’t chimed in on this particular debate, but, following Hamilton’s win, the Austrian said he will always consider Michael Schumacher to be the most iconic racing driver.
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“For me personally, Michael will always be the most iconic race driver. I remember watching those years with Ferrari and Michael and who would have ever thought this record can be could be broken and here we go, 91 race wins,” Wolff said in an interview with The Race.
Continuing, he stressed that while it’s certainly a big achievement for Hamilton and the team, they must be careful not to allow it to make them complacent.
“And it’s something to be proud of, but not something that should trigger too much of a complacency.
“That risk doesn’t exist within our team because we are relentless, we push for perfection and for tomorrow rather than looking back,” he added.
In the same interview, Wolff revealed that Mercedes stopped updating this year’s car “a long time ago”, as they switched focus to their 2021 project.
“We finished them [updates on the 2020 car] a long time ago.
“That has always been in the past what we looked at, it’s a thoroughly thought through the decision because not in every Championship you can afford to close the book early.
“But the rules change quite a lot for next year. And in that respect we decided to, like in the previous years, to switch to next year’s car and this is why you can see that shifting performance between the teams,” he added.
The technical regulations will remain fairly constant next year, though the FIA has mandated changes to a few components on the rear of the cars in the hopes of reducing downforce levels by around ten percent.
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