Captain Tom backs Hamilton to clinch 2020 title

Lewis Hamilton has picked up another celebrity endorsement for his campaign to win a seventh F1 world championship this season, when racing finally gets underway in 2020.

He's been backed to win this year's title by none other than Captain Tom Moore, the remarkable centenarian who has just raised over £32 million for the NHS by completing 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday at the end of April.

An avid F1 fan of long standing, among the thousands of messages Captain Tom received this week from well-wishers were from Valtteri Bottas, Christian Horner, Claire Williams, Ross Brawn and even F1 CEO Chase Carey.

• Norris invites McLaren fan Captain Tom to Woking!

"It was absolutely marvellous," he said. "That was outstanding as so many names I've known so well."

Captain Tom has also received a signed helmet and a personal invitation from Lando Norris to visit the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, once the current coronavirus lockdown restrictions come to an end.

“That will be lovely. I’m looking forward to that when things are a bit clearer," he told the Sky Sports F1 Vodcast on Friday.

“I can remember when McLaren was the winner used to win and win and win," he added. "One day I’m sure it will be the same, because McLaren are improving all the time.”

But even though he's a long-time McLaren supporter, Captain Tom's tip for the top in 2020 is a Mercedes driver - in the form of Lewis Hamilton.

“Of course he can!" Captain Tom replied when asked if Hamilton could pull it off. "Never let that be a doubt in your mind, of course he will.

“He hasn’t finished yet," Captain Tom continued, insisting he never got bored of hearing the British national anthem being played at the podium celebrations. "He’s not an old man, he’s still a young man. He can keep going for a long time.

"It just depends on whether the car can keep ahead as they are now - there are other cars who are doing the best to catch up and pass Mercedes.

"Maybe then there will perhaps come a time when we can have the national anthem for not only the first but the second!"

Joined by his grandson Benji, Captain Tom also told the rapt Sky Sports F1 team of Martin Brundle, Damon Hill and Simon Lazenby that his love of motor racing extended back many years.

“I started before Formula 1. I started when it was the Grand Prix,” he said. "All these names of Formula 1 and Formula 2, that was new when I started watching car racing.

“With Formula 1 my first occasion would be at Silverstone, which is quite a few years ago before Silverstone was as big as it is now. It really is now a super course."

On those days F1 was a notoriously dangerous sport, with a driver losing their life in almost every other event. But Captain Tom said that the danger "was not what car racing was about." as far as he was concerned.

“Car racing was to go as fast and to win , not to damage yourself or your car," he said. "Being a Yorkshireman I saw cars being damaged and thought, 'Oh that’s going to cost a lot of money to put that right!'”

Yet from looking back to F1's glory days, Captain Tom clearly felt that today's modern F1 was as strong and exciting as ever.

"If we had started this year, I think it was going to be a good year for us,” he insisted. “We’ve got drivers coming along who I think are going to push some of the older hands off the market.”

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