Former owner of an F1 team that we now know as RB, Gian Carlo Minardi, named six drivers who he believes can compete for the Championship, but he left out Lewis Hamilton.

There are countless debates around who the best drivers on the current grid are. There are also multiple ways to answer this question. Some include looking at past achievements, years of experience, present achievements, and experts’ opinions.

The 20 drivers we see on the grid this season rated themselves at the end of the 2023 season when F1 asked them to pick the top ten from that year.

According to the drivers’ survey, the top three were Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, and Fernando Alonso. Interestingly, these are also the only World Champions on the grid now.

When team principals were given the same survey, the seven-time World Champion was no longer in the top three but fifth, and the top three were Verstappen, Alonso, and Lando Norris.

Former owner of the F1 team, Gian Carlo Minardi, wouldn’t put Hamilton even in the top six, as he recently gave his list of the top six drivers who could compete in the championship in the right car.

The 76-year-old was talking about Carlos Sainz, who he believes isn’t being recognized for natural talent like his teammate Charles Leclerc, before saying the Spaniard surely belongs in the top six on the current grid. He told the Italian publication Corriere dello Sport:

“It is not fair that Sainz is not recognized as a natural talent as Leclerc because he has innate talents.”

“He has nothing to envy the best and is among the six drivers who can aspire to the World Championship with the right car, namely [Max] Verstappen, Leclerc, Sainz, [Lando] Norris, [Oscar] Piastri and [George] Russell.”

The former F1 team included almost all the drivers from the top for teams of the 2023 Championship except for Sergio Perez and the seven-time World Champion.

Would you agree with Minardi that Hamilton can no longer aspire to win the Championship, even in the right car? Concerning his recent change in teams, Minardi added the only value Hamilton can provide Ferrari is to bring valuable technicians.

“The only thing Hamilton can do is bring in some valuable technicians.”