Alain Prost explains why he will ‘never’ consider Lewis Hamilton the greatest F1 driver of all time

The debate over who is the greatest Formula 1 driver of all time will rage on forever.

Going back to the days of five-time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio, the genius of Jim Clark and legendary battles between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, every era of the sport has at least one driver who can lay claim to that title.

There are only three world champions currently on the grid, but Fernando Alonso’s longevity, Max Verstappen’s domination and Lewis Hamilton’s myriad of broken records mean they’re all in the conversation.

That’s without discussing Michael Schumacher and his unprecedented run of five title wins on the bounce, Jackie Stewart’s record of three championships and 27 victories without starting 100 Grand Prix, or discussing multiple world champions like Sebastian Vettel, Niki Lauda or Nelson Piquet.

Schumacher and Hamilton’s legacies have been discussed and as the only seven-time world champions currently in the sport, any debate typically revolves around the pair.

Hamilton regards Senna as the greatest driver in his opinion but everybody in the sport will have a different view based on so many factors.

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Alain Prost explains why he will never call Lewis Hamilton F1’s greatest driver

Prost was taking part in an interview with beIN SPORTS France and was asked if Hamilton is the best driver of his generation and he replied: “I never answer this.

“Very often, every year, you are asked to give your number one, number two, number three driver.

“I have never been able to do that because I think it’s totally subjective. So, it’s fine that we can take four drivers from each generation who dominate, for example, or perhaps only one or two.

“But to say, for example, he is the best driver of all time or so on, I never get into that because could a [Juan Manuel] Fangio driver these cars or even I, for that matter, drive today’s car?

“Would he be as good or not as good as a Max [Verstappen] or a Lewis in our time.

“Would they have been as efficient? We don’t know, as we didn’t ask the same thing from the drivers.

“I would put three, [or] four drivers from this generation in the category, Lewis is certainly the most iconic. [Max], Fernando is there, Charles [Leclerc] who is finally on the rise.”

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Alain Prost involved in Formula 1’s greatest rivalry with Ayrton Senna

From a statistical standpoint, Hamilton is Formula 1’s most successful driver based on a variety of metrics.

He’s won the most races, secured the most pole positions and finished on the podium more times than any other driver.

Hamilton has had vicious battles with Alonso, Nico Rosberg, and Verstappen over the years.

However, Prost and Senna’s fights over the years decided multiple championships and not always in the cleanest ways.

Both drivers won titles at Suzuka under conspicuous circumstances and Prost blocked Senna from joining at Ferrari despite racing for the Scuderia being the Brazilian’s dream.

Hamilton will hope that he can cement his legacy as the sport’s greatest driver during his time at Ferrari, although he already looks like an outside bet for the 2025 championship.