Mercedes technical director James Allison was discussing integrity in a wide-ranging interview for the Mercedes YouTube channel and believes that is one of Lewis Hamilton’s stand out qualities. Allison also spoke about how the six-time World Champion has got ‘’an utterly unblemished record’’ when it comes to his career.   

‘’It does matter a lot to me. I’ve been lucky enough to work with people who have had the highest integrity – and I do think that is a characteristic that marks out Lewis,’’ said the Brit.  

“He’s one of the oldest drivers on the grid now, still drives like one of the youngest, but in a career of multiple championships and countless wins, you’ll struggle to find a moment on the track where you see Lewis do something ugly.’’ 

“You’ll see him do many, many breathtaking things. You’ll see him do brave things. But you won’t see just crude dodgem car, bumper car stuff or any sort of artifice to the way he drives.’’ 

“I hope that he manages to keep this going for the remainder of his driving career, because it’s an utterly unblemished record.’’ 

‘’And I think amongst multiple world champions, it is also unprecedented to have to have all that success without anything that has even the sort of hint of a shadow of poor sportsmanship hanging over it. I think it’s impressive.’’ 

Allison also spoke out the raw speed Hamilton possesses, as well as the drive and determination he shows to continue to succeed is ‘’staggering.’’ 

“The level of drive that Lewis has and indeed, all these multiple champions have, is quite staggering. 

“You can think you’re a competitive person, you can think you’re a driven person, and then you bump into someone who really is and you realise that actually, you’re a sort of middle of the road, lackadaisical drifter by comparison. 

“I don’t know that it’s easy to compare the (five-time world champion Juan Manuel) Fangio generation of driver to the current. 

“There’s probably a lot more people doing it now than there were back then, it’s a more competitive market, and the ability to judge the performance levels of the drivers is so much higher than it was back in the day. 

“And I do think that there comes a time where the driver’s racecraft is still incredibly strong, but that last little extra special something that gives them the qualifying genius starts to slip through their fingers.’’ 

“One of the interesting things about Lewis is that that’s still very much with him.’’ 

“I think he is blessed with extraordinary physical talents to go along with this mental dedication that is quite freakish.”