Lewis Hamilton will deserve to match Michael Schumacher's record tally of seven titles if he wins in 2020, according to Ross Brawn.
Brawn, now F1's sporting boss, was the technical director at Ferrari throughout the ultra-successful Schumacher period some two decades ago.
"It's a bit frustrating for me because it's a record Michael holds. But if he (Hamilton) continues like this, he will deserve the seventh title," he told Bild newspaper.
"If it wins it won't be because of luck, but because he's a fantastic driver."
However, Brawn said it is impossible to directly compare the talents and achievements of Hamilton and Schumacher.
"We're talking about completely different periods and cars. And they have completely different personalities," he said.
"Lewis has an incredible level of professionalism and he works hard, but Michael had an understanding of the details of his car that Lewis no longer needs these days."