I don't agree that Hamilton hasn't had no.1 status? Come on!!
He had it in '08/09 then McLaren decided they needed another topliner to fight RB and Ferrari and so Whitmarsh signed Button.
When he joined Merc I find it highly unlikely there wasn't some element of preference in the contract otherwise he wouldn't have taken the risk.
Nico was supposed to play 2nd fiddle but decided not to, hence the fireworks.
Since 2017 there has clearly been a no.1 and no.2. That has generally been the same in RB and also in Ferrari until they decided Vettel wasn't upto it anymore and pushed Leclerc forward.
That aside, there is no doubt in my mind that Hamilton is one of the top 6 drivers ever, maybe top 3 (I do not base that purely on statistics, cause that would be a bit obvious, no?) but he is probably the first driver, with the style of on-track calibre that I admire the most I.E. a real racer (and those talents don't come along very often) who I find quite objectionable in character. But hey, that's just me
