Lewis Hamilton roared into the history books on Sunday with a victory that gave him a record-equalling seventh Formula One world title.
And his victory against the odds in Turkey again marked him out as the pre-eminent Grand Prix racer of his time and turned the volume up on growing clamour to anoint him as F1's unchallenged GOAT – Greatest of All Time.
Others are going further still and proclaiming Hamilton the greatest sportsman of his time – and all time, across any sport.
Now that is a bold claim – to put him above the very greatest from boxing, tennis, football, rugby, athletics, ice hockey, baseball, basketball, golf, swimming and cricket.
And the list is not short. You will find thousands that will make the case for every one of these names.
To put the case you have to compare him to Muhammad Ali, Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky, Pele, Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Juan Manuel Fangio, Roger Federer, Bjorn Borg, Don Bradman, Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz, Jonah Lomu, David Campese, Gareth Edwards, Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan to name but a few.
And thousands more who will nay say that choice. How do you compare a cricketer, say, of 1920s with an ice hockey player of the 1970s, a basketball player of the ‘90s and a racing driver of the 2020s?
The west side of the planet may opt for Gretzky, known simply as The Great One who held 61 records in ice hockey when he retired in 1999 and was such an electrifying presence he is credited with making a cold, indoor sport popular in the ultimate sunny paradise, California.
If you turn to rugby there is Jonah Lomu, Campese and Edwards. To get the measure of Campese, google his 'no look' pass to Tim Horan in the 1991 World Cup. It not only made the try but also took out two All Blacks.
Lomu was the man mountain who changed modern ruby forever. He was a back built like a towering scrum second rower, 119kg of muscle that moved like a freight train. What added to his aura was his humbleness.
Talking of self-effacing legends, Zinedine Zidane is a personal favourite. Time seemed to stand still when the baldheaded French midfielder was on the ball. World Cup and European Champion winner, three time world player of the year, and scorer of a 2002 Champions League goal voted the best of all time. To cap it all off, he went into management and won three consecutive Champions League trophies.
If he was all about elegance, then other contenders such as Messi and Maradona were equally effective but scruffy exponents of the world game, the ball bobbling at their feet, seemingly on a piece of elastic, a millimetre from the boot of a rival who never quite got there.
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Hamilton joins galaxy of sporting greats
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Jack Nicklaus, nicknamed the The Golden Bear, won 117 professional tournaments in his career, including a record 18 Majors. Getty -
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, multi Olympic gold medalist and world record holder. Getty -
German driver Michael Schumacher also has seven F1 crowns. Getty -
The Chicago Bulls' Michael Jordan was a basketball icon. Getty -
Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, known as The Greatest, was the first fighter to win the world heavyweight championship on three separate occasions. Getty -
Diego Maradona, World Cup-winning legend of Argentina and football fans worldwide. Getty -
Pele of Brazil, a record three-time World Cup winner, and scorer of an astonishing 1283 goals in 1363 games. Getty -
Jon Jones, the former two-time UFC light heavyweight champion. Jones first held the title from March 2011 to April 2015, and then from December 2018 to when he vacated the title on August 17, 2020. Zuffa LLC/Zuffa -
Jonah Lomu, became the youngest ever All Black when he played his first international in 1994 at the age of 19 years and 45 days. Playing on the wing Lomu finished his international career with 63 caps and 37 tries, and changed the game forever. Allsport -
Roger Federer's tennis are almost endless, but highlights include winning 20 Grand Slam singles titles, reaching each Grand Slam final at least five times and holding the world No1 1 position for 310 weeks. And he's still playing. Getty -
Baseball player first made his name as a left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. But what made him really famous was his work for the New York Yankees as a batter. Getty Babe Ruth on the field in his Boston Red Sox uniform in 1919 in New York, New York. (Photo courtesy Library of Congress/Getty Images) -
Khabib Nurmagomedov of Russia, unbeaten UFC star who retired after his 29-0 win in Abu Dhabi, was ranked at No1 on the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings, and Fight Matrix ranks him as the No 1 lightweight of all time. Getty -
Steffi Graf of Germany became the world’s No 1 tennis player in 1987, a title she held for 377 weeks over her career, winning 22 Grand Slams. Getty -
USA's Ed Moses won gold medals in the 400m hurdles at the 1976 and 1984 Olympics. Between 1977 and 1987, Moses won 107 consecutive finals (122 consecutive races) and set the world record in the event four times. Getty -
American boxer Rocky Marciano held the world heavyweight title from 1952 to 1956and finished his career undefeated, with 43 knockout wins from 49 fights. Getty -
Serena Williams of the United States has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most by any player in the Open Era, and the second-most of all time behind Margaret Court. Getty -
Floyd Mayweather Jr has competed at five different weights, and is a multi-world champion with a 50-0 record. Getty -
British rower Steve Redgrave won a gold medal in five consecutive Olympic Games, the only person to have done so in an endurance sport. Allsport -
Belgian Eddy Merckx belongs to an elite club of riders who have won the Tour de France five times, and he holds the record for the most Tour stage wins at 34. He also won the Giro d'Italia five times. AFP -
Lionel Messi of Barcelona and Argentina, arguably the greatest footballer of all time. Getty -
American tennis star Pete Sampras was not the most exciting to watch, but his domination was complete, winning 14 Grand Slam titles before his retirement in 2002 - a record at the time. Allsport -
Quarterback Tom Brady has played in an incredible nine Super Bowls in his career and won six of them. At 43, he is the oldest active player in the NFL, now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after nearly 20 years with New England Patriots, Getty -
British driver Lewis Hamilton celebrates his seventh F1 world title. AFP
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Maradona is attributed with the World Cup Goal of the Century but his vision as a player has to be balanced against numerous controversies off the field.
There’s no such stigma with Messi. He has won the Champions League four times, been voted Ballon D’Or winner a record six times among 34 trophies in his cabinet. The only blot on his record is never having won the World Cup.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele to you and I, was the definition of elegance and execution, scoring at a rate of almost a goal a game across a stellar career.
He largely refused to take penalties because he viewed it as a cowardly way to score. Ferenc Puskac once said: "The greatest player in history is [Alfredo] Di Stefano. I refuse to classify Pele as a player. He was above that."
Voted both the World Player of the Century in 1999 and Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee reflects the wider respect with which Pele was regarded for his unrelenting sportsmanship.
How about Johnny Weissmuller (of Tarzan movie fame), the first superstar swimmer in the late 1920s, only eclipsed at the Olympics by Mark Spitz and his famous moustache, and then Michael Phelps, who with 28 medals is the most decorated Olympian of all time.
Then there is the extraordinary Flying Finn Paavo Nurmi who set 22 world records in middle and long distance running. He won five gold medals over just six days in the 1924 Paris Olympics. His feats made him a fortune and he was gracious enough to let one of his fiercest rivals rent one of his properties for half price. What a man!
And so the list goes on. Although he is yet to return to the peaks of his prime, there is a major case to be made for Tiger Woods, winner of 82 PGA tournaments and 15 majors, lauded for his fearless golf who was world No 1 within a year of turning professional.
Many Americans would groan if Babe Ruth, giant of a man and baseball player, was not included or quarterback Tom Brady, playing in the Super Bowl a record nine times and winning six of them. Or perhaps NBA greats like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Magic Johnson or Kobe Bryant.
And what about the most successful tennis players of all time: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal joint holders of a record 20 Grand Slams. Federer wins fans with his elegance while the Spaniard for his grunting, relentless batterings.
For rivals in his own sport Hamilton faces Senna, Fangio, Schumacher and Jim Clark. How to weigh the two titles of Clark and the five of Fangio in an era of cork helmets, goggles and death against the modern professional era in which technology is king?
The comparison among racers is easier though. Schumacher’s many questionable tactics when the dice were down, notably at the 2006 Monaco, 2002 Austrian Grand Prix, 1997 Jerez finale, must hamper his claims to ultimate greatness.
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F1 drivers with the most titles
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7 titles - Michael Schumacher won a record seven Formula One world titles. The German won back-to-back titles at Benetton before leaving to join Ferrari in 1996. He would go on to win five successive F1 titles from 2000-04. Getty Images -
7 titles - Lewis Hamilton equalled the legendary Schumacher's seven world titles with victory at Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix. The Briton began his career at McLaren and went on to win his maiden F1 drivers' title in 2008. Since switching to Mercedes, the Briton has won six of the past seven championships, finishing second behind former teammate Nico Rosberg in 2016. Getty Images -
5 titles - Juan Manuel Fangio secured all his titles in the 1950s with four teams - Alfa Romeo (1951), Maserati (1954, 1957), Daimler Benz (1955), Ferrari (1956). Getty Images -
4 titles - Alain Prost was known as "The Professor" during an F1 career that saw him race for teams including McLaren, Ferrari and Williams. The Frenchman won three of his world titles while at McLaren (1985, 1986 and 1989) and one with Williams in 1993 before he retired from F1. Getty Images -
4 titles - Sebastien Vettel won consecutive F1 championships behind the wheel of Red Bull between 2010-13. Getty Images -
3 titles - Jack Brabham won the first two of his championships racing for Cooper (1959, 1960) before setting up his own racing organisation in 1962 where he went on to clinch the 1966 title. Getty Images -
3 titles - Jackie Stewart's glorious career in F1 spanned eight years and four teams. The Briton won the 1969 title behind the wheel of a Matra before securing the titles in 1971 and 1973 with Tyrell. Getty Images -
3 titles - Niki Lauda won the F1 title in 1975 and 1977 for Ferrari and in 1984 with McLaren. He almost won the 1976 title despite suffering horrific burns and being given his last rites. Getty Images -
3 titles - Nelson Piquet collected three F1 titles during a long and illustrious racing career, the first two with Brabham, in 1981 and again in 1983, before clinching his third title with Williams four years later. Getty Images -
3 titles - Many argue that the Brazilian Ayrton Senna is the greatest F1 driver of all time, despite others having won more titles. Senna won all of his championships driving for McLaren (1988, 1990, 1991) before joining Williams in 1994. He died following a crash at the San Marino Grand Prix the same year. Getty Images
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So how can you measure up one against the other, lay the rule against different sportsman across disciplines and time?
How do you measure someone who has achieved greatness at the dawning of a sport, who was breaking new ground, who was actually making the rules, against another who made it big in the modern big money era and was financed from near childhood?
Federer and Nadal competed and achieved in a sport which has absolute equality. So did Muhammad Ali. Basketball players and American football players still needed their teams for their records.
But then so does Hamilton. Without his move to Mercedes driving the pre-eminent car of his time he would certainly not be where he is. Great, yes. Greatest? No.
Where Hamilton has transcended other athletes is through social media and the use of it. He is a vocal vegan and eco warrior and campaigned prolifically about Black Lives Matter campaign.
In the midst of the BLM campaigning there was an anti-Covid vaccine gaffe that saw him labelled “a fraud” by some. He back-pedalled but did not issue an apology.
In his own country, it’s not difficult to predict he will be knighted and become Sir Lewis before very long.
So how to compare modern superstars who can speak directly to an audience of, perhaps hundreds of millions, on social or cultural issues simply by reaching for the phone in their pocket?
The same could not be said for Senna, Sir Jackie Stewart, one of the greatest sportsmen I have met, or the mild-mannered genius that was Clark.
And yet Senna still transcended his sport globally. As did Ali. The boxing great refused conscription to fight in the Vietnam war, was jailed and took a gamble that could have wrecked his career and his life. All his life he was a vocal civil rights campaigner. He didn’t wait until he was famous and untouchable.
These days you can be a global campaigner by opening your Facebook, Instagram or Twitter account. Critics call it virtue signalling.
For me, personally, greatness isn’t about a mountain of wins or championships.
Shouldn’t American football player Colin Kaepernick be regarded more highly than many on this list ?
A quality player, he was the first to refuse to stand for the American national anthem in a civil rights protest against police brutality and racial inequality. It cost him his career and his livelihood. That, for me at least, amounts to more than any number of championship titles in any sport.
I contend there is a point you reach as a sportsman when you have a greater responsibility to humanity than just doing your sport well, collecting the trophies and banking the cheques.
Where you are on that scale is, for me, the ultimate measure of sporting greatness. But, of course, for you it may be different.
