Formula 1 chief Ross Brawn has tipped Lewis Hamilton to surpass a tally of 120 wins by the time he eventually retires from the sport.
Hamilton became the most successful driver in Formula 1 history in 2020 when he matched and overtook the tally of 91 victories achieved by Michael Schumacher.
Hamilton’s triumph in Russia marked his 100th win as he became the first driver to reach three figures, having also taken his 100th pole earlier in 2021.
The reigning World Champion is contracted with Mercedes through the 2023 season.
Hamilton has averaged 10-11 victories per season in Formula 1’s turbo hybrid era though his percentage tally has slightly dipped in 2021 amid his closely-fought fight with Max Verstappen.
Brawn, though, believes Hamilton is sufficiently motivated to continue raising the benchmark in the coming seasons.
“It’s a milestone no one thought anyone would ever reach,” said Brawn in his post-race column.
“Michael’s tally of 91 was so far ahead of what anyone else had ever done at that point that it never seemed conceivable that anyone would get near it.
“But then Lewis beat it – and now Lewis has 100 wins. There is nothing stopping him.
“Who knows where it’s going to end up? He’s with us for another couple of years at least – and he will win races every year.
“I don’t think we could predict 200 wins, but I think we could certainly predict 20 more as he’s still massively competitive and motivated.
“It’s just staggering and congratulations to him, as it’s a centenary that no one ever thought would be achieved.”
Luckily for Lewis and Mercedes, the goofy F1 token system used since 2014 have prevented others from catching up, whereas in previous eras a car finishing towards the rear at the beginning of a season would sometimes end up winning races by the end of the season, simply because it was then possible to redesign the entire car. What we are seeing with Max is not a guy with the best car by any means, but rather lots of talent, and yet he is only a few points behind Lewis despite Mercedes crashing him twice, and also Lewis having a superior car. Lewis during 2009-2013 was never able to perform at even a fraction of the level that Max is, and I’m pretty sure some of those McLarens he had were better than what Max has now — especially in 2010 when he should have easily won the title by a few points but made too many mistakes and finished fourth. The bottom line is, there are a number of drivers who if given Lewis’ car from 2014-2020 would have matched or even surpassed his records, especially Alonso who would likely be on his way to a ninth championship this year. What Lewis has accomplished feels flat, and it is not quite as impressive as the numbers indicate.