Brawn: The way Lewis drove puts him up with the greats

Formula 1 motorsport chief Ross Brawn acknowledged that Lewis Hamilton deserved his fourth world championship title, but points to the Briton's driving this year as the reason why he is at the level of the great drivers of the sport.

Brawn said in the wake of the Mexican Grand Prix, where a ninth place finish was enough for the Mercedes driver to claim the 2017 title, "Lewis deserved this title, the fourth of his incredible career."

"For much of the season he was chasing the leader, but after the summer break he found another gear. It's true that the way in which he clinched the crown in Mexico was unusual."

"It's not often a title comes your way when you've been lapped. However, I have personal experience of the fact that, as you approach the final small step, it can actually prove more difficult than the previous ones. It was probably one of those cases."

"It's not just a fourth title that promotes Lewis to the level of the greatest in our sport, the Schumacher's, Senna's and Fangio's. It's the way he drove this year that really impressed me, especially in recent races."

"Even when his car was not at 100% he was able to produce some amazing drives, so really, congratulations to him for a superb achievement."

Brawn spared a word for Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel who led the championship challenge during the first half of the season, but faltered in the second half, "Congratulations also go to Sebastian, who was a worthy opponent."

"That fantastic pole lap on Saturday was really magnificent and even on Sunday, having dropped to the back of the field, he did his utmost to fight for the title until the very end, once again showing how genuinely quick he is."

"He didn't do it, but I think that he and everyone at Ferrari can be proud of what they achieved this year and they have a great platform from which to start 2018."

"In Maranello, they know how to improve and so I expect to see an even stronger and more determined Ferrari next year, which should make for an even more enthralling season," added Brawn.