Top Car

Of course Jackieraced in anera before theFIA imposedrestrictions onsideburn width``````witnessed heart-wrenchingscenes in Hungary, when Fstruggled to come to termswith th e death of JulesBianchi, and there have beenchanges to the calend ar too,with th e last-m inute absenceof the German GP and the``````It’s taken 42years for another British driverto additi on of Mexico.Even the lifestyles of Stewartmatch Jackie Stewart’s three F1titles. Who’s in hi s pomp and Hamiltonthe biggerhero?ByTomClarksonHaren’t dissimilar. Lewis travelsregularly to America, where 43 winE PARTIED ONMonday and slept on Tuesday, he has a house in Colorado,but what did winning a third world title at the US and Jackie used to hop across^26Grand Prix bring Lewis Hamilton, ot her than a the pond frequently. In 1971hang over and a healthy bonus from Mercedes he flew across the Atlantic 86 RGrand Prix? times, fulfilling drivingIn a word: notoriety. There have been64 F1 world commitments in CanAmandchampions, but only six three-time champions and Lewis is a burgeoning career as a Phanow one of them. He can be mentione d in the same breath as``````Rihcommentator for ABC Sports. SJack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet Both men mix with A-listand, most significantly, Ayrton Senna; Lewis has always celebs, Lewis with th e likes ofwanted to equal the achievements of the late, great Brazilian. Rihanna, Pharrell Williams‘I pinch myself every day,’ says Lewis, ‘but it still hasn’t and Nico le Scherzinger andsunk in.’ Jackie, ba ck in the day, with ‘HJackie Stewart was in Aust in to witness Hamilton’s title Princess Grace of Monaco,success, 42 years after he clinched his third title for Tyrrell in George Harrison and1973. ‘This is a great day for Lewis,’ said Stewart. ‘He’s driven Princess Anne. They bothbrilliantly this year, but I still think he can getbetter. He ’s 30 push the limits of fashion,years old, which means he’s reaching maturity and now is the Lewis with his tattoos andright time to improve on that. He has experience and from urban chic, Jackie with hisexperience you gain knowle dge, and with knowle dge you canPeasideburns and corduroycaps.improve yourself. I think his best years are still ahead of him.’ Their driving styles are veryStewart retired from driving at the end of 1973, at the age of different. Jackie was all34. It had beenan emotional season, follo wing the deaths of smoothness and guile, whilehis friend Roger Williamson and his team-mate Francois Lewis is moreof a hustler andCevert, and it was an intense year of travelling, with new has great bravado. There is no doubting Lewis’s dominationracesin Brazil and Sweden. this year; he’s won 10 races(with two ro unds to go ) to To this extent, there are parallels between 1973 and 2015. We Stewart’s five in ’73 and he’s taken 11 poles to Stewart’s three. Howmuch morecan Hamilton achieve? ‘I want to winmoretitles,’ he says , ‘but I have no goal in terms of a number.I don’t think I’ll beat Michae l [Schumacher]’s seven; in fact, Ihope no-one beats Michae l beca use he’s a legend.’ QuestionStewart’s Tyrrell-Ford (right). is: at what point does Lewis himself achieve legend status?Trickierthan Hami lton’s Merc?18 TOPCAR.CO.ZA|January 2016