Highlights
Series
Explore
If you polled every racing fan under the sun, the perfect driver would be all manner of things - brave, aggressive, super-fast on track, and not content with a dull corporate image off it. They would be outspoken and honest, with a rags-to-riches, underdog, did-it-their-way backstory, while maintaining a humble grounding that shows they never forget where they have come from.
The current crop of Formula 1 drivers display many excellent qualities, but none are 'perfect'. Closest is Lewis Hamilton. He's a super-fast and super-successful racing driver despite being a black man who didn't grow up in privilege. You only need to look at the general motorsport demographic to know that either one of those is enough to make a racing career unlikely, let alone the chance to be one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time.
He's also plagued with an air of arrogance - or self-belief, if you want to be generous. It's part of what fuels his brilliance in a racing car of course and it's not necessarily a criticism, but it means he could never really qualify as humble.
