Certainly Jackie drove in an era where if you weren't 100% committed, there was a very good chance you would die.
Jacques Villeneuve had this attitude when he finally fell out with BAR/Honda, and I think he's the last driver who drove with this approach. Look how drivers like Kimi, Barichello and Alonso just hold on, driving without any hope of winning. (I don't begrudge them that, just it's a different attitude, and Hamilton is with them, not Villeneuve/Stewart)
The modern cars are safe, I think watching Kubica basically walk away from his crash in Canada really changed the approach F1 drivers take. Which is fine by me. As dangerous as Max/Lewis's tangles were in 2021, I never really felt like anyone was in genuine danger. I'm glad the FIA has made the sport safe mechanically so that drivers can take chances. I'm mostly annoyed that the big crashes take so long to clear up.
I do agree that Hamilton wants to leave on top, not just after a win, but after a definitive win, which hasn't reached yet. Schumacher, Alonso and Kimi haven't had their legacies 'tarnished' by lacklustre comebacks. They are all racers, and squeezed everything they could from the sport. I respect that, and if Hamilton wants to run 3 laps down in whatever Sauber is called in 20 years, I'd stand by that.