Formula One: Lewis Hamilton’s top 4 active drivers in the sport

Lewis Hamilton gave his opinion on who he believes are the four best active drivers in Formula One. Are any of them surprising?

Lewis Hamilton just secured his fourth career Formula One championship and his third in the last four seasons. In that four-year span, he won 40 races, an all-time record total for a four-year span. He now sits in 2nd place on the all-time wins list with 62 career victories, and he sits in a 3rd place tie on the all-time championships list with four career titles.

So when the 32-year-old Formula One legend talks Formula One, it would be a good idea to listen, because he tends to know what he’s talking about. In an interview with Motorsport Magazine, he offered his opinion on who he believes are the four best active drivers in the sport.

Given who the driver is that gave the interview and what he has accomplished throughout his 11-year career, you can pretty much put two and two together to figure out that he basically listed his three toughest competitors. Even the world’s humblest man would name himself on that list if he had accomplished what Hamilton has.

Here is what Hamilton had to say in that interview.

"“Fernando is the toughest there is, you need the utmost respect for him and really have to play your cards right. You can race physically closer with him it would seem. His racecraft is mighty. Max’s racecraft is very impressive – he’s doing wonderful things and is going to grow so much. The four strongest drivers I think are me, Fernando, Sebastian, Max. I really hope we are all in the fight next year.“You look at them all slightly differently, they all have different characteristics. Sebastian from this year, I could say I need to give him more space. Not in a negative way. Max takes a lot of risks – also you have to give him more space. It won’t be a problem – it’ll just be freaking tough. What a contest. Even I’d pay to see that!”"

Among active drivers, a combined total of 11 Formula One championships have been won, and Hamilton’s list included drivers who combined for 10 of those titles. He named himself, which is no shock and should not be taken as him being arrogant; there is no doubt he’s a top 4 driver in the sport.

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Sebastian Vettel, who was Hamilton’s chief title rival this past season, is also a four-time champion of the sport, and he won his fourth career title at the young age of 26. So that pick is also not surprising.

Also not surprising is Hamilton’s pick of Fernando Alonso, a two-time champion of the sport. He has not been competitive in recent years given the lack of speed that his McLaren team has had, but we could see that change next season with the team switching from Honda to Renault engines.

Hamilton’s lone pick that stands out is 20-year-old Max Verstappen, who recorded his second and third career Formula One wins this past season. He has shown a lot of potential but has yet to establish himself as a true championship threat. However, don’t be surprised if that changes within the next year or so and Hamilton is proven right. In fact, most people think Verstappen will win multiple championships over the course of his career.

Next: Who is the greatest Formula One driver of all-time?

Notable drivers that Lewis Hamilton did not include on his list are his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, Kimi Raikkonen, who is the other active former Formula One champion, and Daniel Ricciardo, who is arguably the most talented driver in the field who has never had a ride with Mercedes or Ferrari, the sport’s two best teams.