F1 Managing Director Ross Brawn has predicted that his fellow country man Lewis Hamilton will walk away from Formula 1 with a tally of 120 victories to his name.
The seven-time World Champion became the first driver in the history of the sport to reach 100 wins last time out at the 2021 Russian Grand Prix.
The only other driver to come remotely close to that milestone was The legendary German driver Michael Schumacher, who retired with 91 victories in the bag.
Brawn says he never thought somebody would surpass the German and doesn’t think Hamilton is anywhere near done yet.
“It’s a milestone no one thought anyone would ever reach,” he said in his column on the official F1 site.
“Michael’s tally of 91 was so far ahead of what anyone else had ever done at that point that it never seemed conceivable that anyone would get near it. But then Lewis beat it – and now Lewis has 100 wins. There is nothing stopping him.
“Who knows where it’s going to end up? He’s with us for another couple of years at least – and he will win races every year. I don’t think we could predict 200 wins, but I think we could certainly predict 20 more as he’s still massively competitive and motivated.
“It’s just staggering and congratulations to him, as it’s a centenary that no one ever thought would be achieved.”
Old Drivers Thrive in Tough Conditions
Hamilton wasn’t the only older head on the grid that Brawn was impressed by in Russia.
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen finished in P6 and P8 respectively, and the F1 managing director feels their experience helped them out a lot in the late chaos that saw Lando Norris lose the win.
“We saw this last year in Turkey, where conditions were tricky, that experience counted and the same was the case in Russia,” he added.
“The likes of Lewis and Max [Verstappen] came through and bagged the top places and Lando’s inexperience showed a bit. But he will make a better decision next time he’s in that scenario. The others had been in that situation, and they could call on that experience.
“Fernando was at his brilliant best again – and Kimi showed that he can still make his experience count and get the job done. Carlos [Sainz] was impressive, too, briefly leading the race and driving well to his third podium of the year for Ferrari.
“It was a cracking race and the first few laps were fantastic. No one was giving an inch. The veterans like Fernando and Kimi were fighting hard while the young bucks were coming through and trying to assert themselves and find their place.”
