Four-time F1 world champion Alain Prost says Lewis Hamilton's dominance in the sport is rooted in his commitment to Mercedes, just as Michael Schumacher's success was built on his loyalty to Ferrari.
Hamilton is currently on track to secure his seventh world title, a feat that would equal Schumacher's outstanding track record.
The Briton is also just three victories short of breaking even with Schumacher's tally of 91 career wins in Formula 1.
Prost believes both drivers owe their extraordinary success to the loyalty they have shown to their respective strong teams.
"It is unbelievable what Lewis has done," Prost told PA News.
"But you can only do that if you have a long domination and a long-term commitment with a team.
"When Michael did it, we all thought it would not be possible to beat his records because of how modern Formula 1 is. But we now have a period of domination with Lewis and Mercedes.
"You can compare the dominance of Ferrari and Michael and Mercedes and Lewis because it is basically the same story.
"You have a perfect organisation with key people in the team and a number one and a number two driver.
"Psychologically you have a very stable situation which puts you in a very strong position.
"Sometimes people don’t realise what Lewis is doing because he has produced some exceptional laps, but he can only do that because he is comfortable in the team, confident with the team, and that can help you find the last tenths of a second."
Earlier this week, Formula 1 released in partnership with Amazon Web Services a data-driven study in which Ayrton Senna was designated as the fastest F1 driver in the history of the sport, the great Brazilian leading Schumacher and Hamilton in the standings.
But Prost insists the comparison between drivers from different generations - and specifically between Hamilton and Senna - proves little.
"He [Hamilton] is one of the best and that is obvious, but how can you judge this generation of cars and drivers? It was more than 30 years ago.
"I would ask myself if I was in Juan Manuel Fangio’s time would I have been able to be a world champion? Was I as good as him? But Fangio is a good example. He first raced in F1 when he was 38.
"You can have a realistic judgement about Fangio, Ayrton and Lewis, but would we want Lewis to start at 38? No way, so sometimes you have to accept you cannot always compare."
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