Formula One sporting boss Ross Brawn believes Lewis Hamilton can be classed among the all-time greats in the sport, following his title triumph at last weekend's Mexican Grand Prix.
Hamilton clinched his fourth drivers' title in Mexico with a recovery drive to ninth, after clashing with rival Sebastian Vettel on the opening lap. The Mercedes driver has joined an exclusive club of just five drivers in the history of F1 to win four or more titles -- alongside Vettel, Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost and Juan Manuel Fangio -- while he has also become Briton's most successful driver of all time.
Brawn has been particularly impressed by Hamilton's performances this season, a year in which the recently-crowned four-time world champion has broken Schumacher's long-standing pole position record, as well as taking nine race victories so far to move himself clear in second place in the list of most grand prix wins with 62, 29 shy of Schumacher's all-time record.
"Lewis [Hamilton] deserved this title, the fourth of his incredible career. For much of the season he was chasing the leader, but after the summer break he found another gear," Brawn said. "It's true that the way in which he clinched the crown in Mexico was unusual.
"It's not often a title comes your way when you've been lapped. However, I have personal experience of the fact that, as you approach the final small step, it can actually prove more difficult than the previous ones. It was probably one of those cases.
"It's not just a fourth title that promotes Lewis to the level of the greatest in our sport, the Schumacher's, Senna's and Fangio's. It's the way he drove this year that really impressed me, especially in recent races. Even when his car was not at 100% he was able to produce some amazing drives, so really, congratulations to him for a superb achievement."
Brawn also backed his former team Ferrari to recover from the disappointment of being beaten to both world championships and bounce back in 2018, after becoming the first team to seriously threaten Mercedes -- which has dominated the sport since 2014 -- in a title fight
"Congratulations also go to Sebastian [Vettel], who was a worthy opponent. That fantastic pole lap on Saturday was really magnificent and even on Sunday, having dropped to the back of the field, he did his utmost to fight for the title until the very end, once again showing how genuinely quick he is.
"He didn't do it, but I think that he and everyone at Ferrari can be proud of what they achieved this year and they have a great platform from which to start 2018. In Maranello, they know how to improve and so I expect to see an even stronger and more determined Ferrari next year, which should make for an even more enthralling season."