Thursday 28 July 2016 07:51, UK
Lewis Hamilton is the closest thing Formula 1 has to the "complete driver", according to the guests on this week's F1 Report.
The reigning world champion took the lead in the drivers' standings for the first time in 2016 after winning the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday, and now sits six points clear of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.
Hamilton faces the prospect of at least one engine penalty between now and the end of the season, and Sky F1's Marc Priestley believes the Brit showed his experience in the way he managed the situation at the Hungaroring.
"Lewis has matured so much now," Priestley told this week's F1 Report. "I hate to say he's the perfect package but he's as good as we've got in F1 in terms of the complete driver.
"He's as quick as anyone can be and off the track he's playing the right games and saying the right things and those are all things you need to succeed.
"We all know about the pace he's got in the car but what we're seeing with the modern Lewis is the maturity to turn his engine down.
"We know he's got this penalty coming at some point this season, but he's trying to make this current unit last as long as he can to maybe get away with taking only one more before the end of the season."
Priestley and presenter Natalie Pinkham were also joined by the Sun's Motor Racing Correspondent Ben Hunt, who echoed his fellow guest's thoughts on Hamilton.
"Who would have thought we'd be in this situation of saying Lewis is so smart and controlled?" he said. "It must be frustrating for Nico sitting behind him thinking he's got a chance, only for Lewis to open the gap again."
Despite Hamilton finally taking the lead in the title race, Hunt believes the advantage is still far too narrow to write Rosberg off at this stage.
"I didn't have him down as world champion at the start of the year," he said. "I then convinced myself he was good enough but we see how resilient Lewis is when things do go wrong, like at Spa, then he just seems to make it happen.
"Nico's right when he says Lewis's luck will change and it will be closer than we probably think. It's only six points at the moment and I think there's plenty more drama to come. I won't write off Nico just yet."
