Hamilton has proved to every child, no matter their background, all you need is a dream and self-belief to make it
It is impossible to compare drivers across different eras of motor racing, they can only really be judged as of their time. But what I can say without hesitation about Lewis Hamilton now he has secured his seventh world championship is that he is, by a million miles, the greatest driver of his generation and you can argue he will go on to be the greatest Formula One driver of all time.
Until now the greatest for me was Juan Manuel Fangio because I was a child of that era and Fangio won five championships when drivers were being killed and he did it with four different manufacturers. That was an exceptional record, no one thought it could be beaten. Then Michael Schumacher came along and took seven and matching that did not seem realistic. Now there is Lewis not only equalling Michael but in every position to go one better as the most successful driver in F1. There could easily be an eighth and ninth championship and right now it is hard not to picture it because his talent and the engineering expertise Mercedes have demonstrated is mind-blowing.
