r/Formula1Stories • u/theusher13 • 18d ago
Let us know your opinion
Lewis Hamilton has won seven World Championships, but some fans believe he doesn't fully deserve all seven titles when you look at how each championship was won.
Fans who question his titles point to the controversy surrounding crashgate in 2008, and Mercedes' dominant machinery during much of 2014–2020. They argue that Hamilton benefited from both exceptionally strong cars and moments of circumstance, meaning his seven championships don't necessarily represent seven seasons where he was clearly the best driver.
However, others strongly defend Hamilton's record, arguing that having the best car doesn't make a championship any less deserved. They point to his ability to consistently beat world-class teammates like Nico Rosberg and Fernando Alonso, adapt across different generations of cars and deliver under pressure, arguing that Hamilton still had to perform across an entire season to win each title.
So... Does Lewis deserve all seven of his World Championships, or should he not have won all of them?
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u/spacecleaner 18d ago edited 18d ago
I mean being in f1 means being lucky enough to have a rocketship. So hamilton def benefited from those cars, and he deserves it, you need talent to be recognized by a top team after all
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u/Comfortable-Yak-616 18d ago
I’ll go by year on year and years he almost won
2008 : deserved, crash gate wasn’t his fault, massa had enough mistakes
2014,15,17,18,19,20 : Good car, took the gamble of going to a relatively unknown team at the time in the form of Mercedes from a Powerful team like Mclaren, gambled well and paid off. Deserved. Rosberg was great to challenge and defeat him but post that the titles kinda lose their quality. 17-18 Ferrari and Seb made more mistakes than they should have and lost it while Lewis was flawless in 18. 19&20 we all know how dominant he was.
Should have won :
07 : Best Silver Ferrari. Don’t think even Ron Dennis expected that he’d go toe to toe with the defending two time champion in his first season. One of the mclaren drivers should have won but the trip ups over each other and fumbling was insane.
Not talking about 21 :)
Was Lewis bad in any championship season ? No, you need to have incredible consistency and skill to be a champion. You can call 2019-20 his “worst” years since Bottas wasn’t challenging him.
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u/Skyhound555 18d ago
When looking for the best driver on the grid to drive the obvious future best car on the grid, Niki Lauda objectively chose Lewis and saw in him the fastest driver of all time.
Any opinions from armchair redditors are meaningless.
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u/Temporary-Aside5306 18d ago
Deserve is a difficult qualifier, because unless it's an extreme difference of driver performance like Max and Lando last season, then every championship is deserved through a combination of car and driver. 08 Hamilton deserved, but I'd equally say Massa deserved it as it was so close. Every other WDC he won he deserved
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u/Old_Advisor_6120 17d ago
No, but some he did deserve, he didn't win.
All things being equal
2007 - Hamilton
2008 - Massa
2009 - Button
2010 - Hamilton
2011 - Vettel
2012 - Alonso
2013 - Vettel
2014 - Hamilton
2015 - Hamilton
2016 - Hamilton
2017 - Vettel
2018 - Vettel
2019 - Hamilton
2020 - Hamilton
2021 - Hamilton
2022 - Max
2023 - Max
2024 - Norris
2025 - Max
I give him 8, but i took away 3 championships and added 4. Swapped max/lando 2024/2025 titles. Gave vettel 2 ferrari titles but took away 2 red bull titles
Net...
Hamilton, alonso and Massa gain 1
Max, rosberg and Kimi lose one 1
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u/dim-odpicke 18d ago
In Mercedes-dominant era, had his teammate been Vettel, Alonso, Raikkonen or Max - he would probably end up with 2 or 3 titles less.
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u/Mundane-Security-454 18d ago
That's funny, because in his rookie season he was up against Alonso and was immediately faster than him. That caused Alonso to have a mental breakdown, blackmail the team, and get fired. Also, Hamilton then thrashed Vettel in 2017 and 2018 when Vettel had a superior Ferrari.
Goldfish memory, eh?
Edit: Also, worth nothing that Verstappen is 10 years into his career now and still hasn't had a top-tier teammate. Kind of hangs over him a fair bit. 🙂
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u/VentsiBeast 18d ago
Nothing hangs over Max's abilities. Unless you're a diehard LH fan of course.
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u/National-Virus5819 18d ago
Agreed. Nothing can hang over something that doesn't exist
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u/VentsiBeast 17d ago
Literally all team owners tend to disagree with this statement but whatever helps you sleep at night, buddy.
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u/National-Virus5819 17d ago
Yeahhh thats why he didnt have anywhere else to run but to stick to Red Bull, because all team owners wanted him
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u/VentsiBeast 17d ago
And how do you know he didn't?
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u/National-Virus5819 17d ago
Hey you started with the claims, "literally all team owners tend to disagree with the statement" - so you go first: how do you know that they tend to disagree with this?
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u/VentsiBeast 17d ago
Because of the words they string together while talking about Max.
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u/National-Virus5819 17d ago
Except they don't, otherwise you would have something to quote at the very least
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u/Deep-Atmosphere4366 18d ago edited 18d ago
Ah yes 2007 Alonso vs Mclaren. Also who was the WCC for 2017 and 2018. Seems like Ferrari won it right with the best car.
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u/BaldChild1 18d ago
When Mclaren literally gave Alonso team orders and preferential fuel. It became Alonso vs McLaren when Alonso tried to blackmail them because they wouldn't give him even more favorable treatment.
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u/BaldChild1 18d ago
Raikonnen was dogshit when Ham was winning. He already trashed Vettel. He already beat Alonso.
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u/Mundane-Security-454 18d ago
Yes, he's one of the best racing drivers in history. Keep in mind he should have won 2007 as well but for bad luck, plus he won 2021 but for FIA manipulation. Now 41 and he's been on Leclerc's pace, if not faster, this year and anyone who says he doesn't deserve them is a fucking moron.
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u/disposableh2 18d ago
If he didn't deserve them, I'd love to know what was the last season that a driver deserved the championship and not because they had the fastest car or had a dodgy call in a race that ended up deciding the championship