“Extraordinary” Hamilton praised for competing against the “next generation”

At 38, Hamilton is the second-oldest driver on the F1 2023 grid - only Fernando Alonso is older.

Despite his age, Hamilton still remains among the top group of drivers on the grid.

He currently sits ahead of younger Mercedes teammate George Russell in the drivers’ standings even though he has been out-qualified by him 4-1 this season.

• ‘I finally broke him’ - Speed on his F1-career-ending bust-up with Tost

Speed - who raced in F1 between 2006 and 2007 - heaped praise on Hamilton.

“Lewis still is because he's still competing with this next generation of driver, which is remarkable and truly insane,” he said on F1's Beyond the Grid podcast.

“Achievement in F1 is so difficult because there's so many guys that are in F1 that don't have a F1 world championship, but they're amazing. So depending on your era and your timing of when you're in there or when you're not, it’s incredibly important.”

• ‘No way in world peak Schumacher was quicker than Hamilton’

During his own career, Speed failed to score a single point during his 22-race stint with Toro Rosso.

The American was ultimately replaced midway through Hamilton’s rookie season in 2007.

Reflecting on his time in F1, Speed expressed his regret about his own approach.

“Oh gosh, how young and uneducated I was,” he added. “Massive ego. I just look back at a silly kid. It's kind of embarrassing, honestly. I obviously had a lot of ability. 

“I was very good at driving that type of vehicle. I don't think I was at the level of Rosbergs or your Lewis’s from my generation. But my reason for competing was that I wanted to see how good I was. I certainly didn't have a good mindset. 

“I was put into some incredibly great environments by Red Bull to help me succeed and help me develop, because when I left America and went over there, I didn't have the ability to do it, but they did a great job of placing me with good teams up the ladder where I could learn, even though I didn't realise I was learning. 

“I just thought that, if I was fast, it was because the car was good and if we were slow, then the car was crap. I had no responsibility for any of that.”