Former F1 team principal Flavio Briatore is the latest ‘expert’ to weigh in on one of the sport’s hottest debates. Schumacher vs Lewis Hamilton, who’s championship reign was more dominant? This is one question that’s divided the F1 world. Briatore believes Michael Schumacher deserves the honour of being the better champion. However, he did have some compelling arguments.
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Lewis Hamilton or Michael Schumacher?
The Hamilton vs Schumacher debate has been raging on ever since the former captured his sixth World Championship. Some say Lewis deserves the unofficial crown of being the GOAT, while others disagree. The fact remains that Hamilton is yet to eclipse Michael’s long-standing record of 7 World Championships.
Let’s look at the numbers. Hamilton in a career spanning 13 years, has 84 wins and 6 World Championships. Schumacher, on the other hand, has 91 victories and 7 World Championships. Furthermore, the German spent a staggering 21 years in the sport.
Schumacher took on a plethora of rivals who only kept getting better and tougher as time progressed. The German driver survived a major transition period in the sport and raced with machines that are vastly different compared to the cars of today. Without a doubt, the F1 cars of today are leap years ahead in terms of reliability and speed.
Hamilton, on the other hand, hasn’t really dealt with the level of competition as Schumacher. He’s also had a car that’s been miles ahead of the competition in the current era of F1. As long as the Briton lags behind at least in terms of the record books, Michael has the edge.
Briatore weighs in
But this doesn’t change the fact that Hamilton’s dominance in the sport is also a manifestation of his dedication and talent in F1.
Briatore weighed in on the debate in the official F1 podcast- Beyond the Grid.
“Michael was fighting with the big guys like Senna,”
“You need to recognise that when Michael arrived, the [competition] was tough. You are talking about Nigel Mansell, you are talking about Senna.”
“For Hamilton, again, nobody put the pressure onto him.
“You have two drivers, three drivers… the competition is less than before.”
Hamilton is on course to match or possibly even surpass the German’s record in F1. Should the 2020 season get underway with a handful of races, Lewis is the frontrunner to take the ultimate prize.
