Is Lewis Hamilton now Formula 1's greatest driver of all time?

On pure stats along, one could say that the greatest Formula 1 driver of all time is Michael Schumacher. With 7 championships, 68 pole positions, 91 wins, 155 podiums, and 1,556 points to his name, his records seemed unbreakable even before he retired, But Lewis Hamilton has smashed most of them, and recently, even tied one of them. That would be the wins tally.

After the Eifel Grand Prix held in Germany this past weekend, Hamilton clinched his 91st win, equalling Schumacher's record. Does this make Hamilton the greatest Formula 1 driver of all time?

From a numbers standpoint, it checks out. Hamilton has long surpassed Schumacher's podium, points, and poles tally. To his credit, the defending champion has 160 podiums, 3,661 points, and 96 pole positions to his name. This year, Hamilton continues to dominate the sport by winning seven out of the 11 races held so far this season. At the rate he's going, Hamilton could be on his way to be the first Formula 1 driver to get 100 Grand Prix victories.

Of course, some will argue that the numbers are exactly that; numbers. There will be those that will say it was more difficult to score points during Schumacher's era. That's because points were given to the top six and not the top ten, unlike today. Also, there were fewer races per season back in the day, so getting wins and points was much more difficult in the past.

But regardless of what people think of Lewis Hamilton, one cannot deny the stats and results he's been putting in since 2007. Whether you're a fan of him or not, Hamilton's record-smashing career to date easily puts him in one of the greatest drivers of all time. With a multi-year deal with Mercedes-AMG, it looks like we'll be seeing more years of “Hammertime” in the next couple of seasons.

Perhaps a stat one cannot deny Hamilton is this: he is the most successful driver of the turbo-hybrid V6 era. All he needs to do now is clinch the seventh title before the new regulations take place in 2022. With the way things are going, he might even get an eighth title.