(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Next year will see two four-time world champions taking aim for a fifth Formula One world championship and whoever of either Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes or Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel gets there first, they will go on to equal the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio.
And while that will put one of them on par with the great Argentine, both Hamilton and Vettel spoke very highly of the man known as 'El Maestro,' and said outright that there was no comparisons at all.
Vettel said that Fangio was "special" while Hamilton reckoned that he was the "godfather of the sport."
"Certainly, we will never match him in how successful he had been in such a short time and so little races," Vettel said at the Yas Marina Circuit, home to the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
"Obviously, back then it was different. Racing was different. I had the pleasure to chat with Stirling Moss, and if you ask him about Juan Manuel Fangio then I think you get a much better answer because he knew him and because he knew his skills in a car. I think as a racing driver if you come to a point where you say that. because in a way you always tend to think you are the best, otherwise there's not much point I guess, but if you reach a point where you say 'that guy was just better than me' it says a lot and if you look at Stirling's record I think it has been incredible, not just in Formula 1 but in all the other categories as well. So he must have been really, really special.
"And as I said, to have achieved what he did achieve in that time, where a lot of things needed to come together, the cars were not as reliable and all of that, still he managed to be that successful, I think he's probably the best we've ever had in terms of putting it together, in terms of skill, in terms of how brave they were at the time. I think racing at its core remained the same until today but the racing itself has changed massively since the '50s to today," added the German.
Hamilton nodded in approval.
"I agree with Seb. Naturally, he's just a leading icon in motorsport. To have achieved what he achieved in the time, when danger was really at its worst. I think he's the driver that I think everyone admires most, perhaps being that it was in the most dangerous period of time in motorsport. I think to even be as close as we are, I feel very honoured to be this close to such a great sporting icon. If anything I actually feel like he's under. I think he should be celebrated more for his success. It's not really mentioned a huge amount. Often you hear about Ayrton and Prost but I feel he's the godfather of the sport in terms of the drivers," felt Hamilton.
Fangio set a plethora of records, winning five titles, four of them on the trot. He won the title in 1951 and then from 1954 to 1957, with four different teams - Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Mercedes and Ferrari.
Fangio, who became the second world champion after Giuseppe Farina, had 24 win in 51 starts, with 35 podiums and 29 pole positions.
Michael Schumacher has gone past him with seven world titles to become the 24th world champion in history but Fangio, who passed away in 1995, has left a lasting legacy.
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