Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher currently share the record for the most Formula 1 world championships.
Formula 1 has entered its 75th season this year, and remarkably, nearly 20% of all the drivers’ championships ever won have been shared between Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.
Schumacher won back-to-back titles with Benetton in 1994 and 1995 before dominating the sport with Ferrari throughout the early 2000s.
Meanwhile, Hamilton’s emergence in 2007 coincided with Schumacher’s first retirement, and aside from his maiden championship with McLaren, the 40-year-old won all of his other titles with Mercedes.
Position Drivers’ Championship PointsPts 1 234 2 226 3 165 4 147 5 119 6 103 7 63 8 46 9 37 10 23
There was some symmetry between their careers, with Hamilton replacing Schumacher at the Silver Arrows, with Kimi Antonelli now the third driver to step into that seat at Mercedes.
Now, Hamilton is trying to emulate Schumacher’s incredible success with Ferrari, but his first attempt hasn’t gone to plan.
Ferrari are planning new updates to make Hamilton’s car competitive, but it appears as though Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc will need to wait until 2026 to challenge for the drivers’ championship.
Jacques Villeneuve has now shared why he believes Hamilton will never have the same support as Schumacher at Ferrari in his attempt to win an eighth title.
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Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty ImagesJacques Villeneuve tells Lewis Hamilton why Michael Schumacher had an easier time at Ferrari
Villeneuve was speaking to The Red Flags Podcast, and the subject of Hamilton’s start at Ferrari came up.
He explained: “We had a glimpse of it in China. He got it on pole when the car shouldn’t have been on pole, then in the Sprint Race and then carried that to a win.
“There was another race where he got it back. I can’t remember where, but in general, you can see that when things go a little bit wrong, a little bit tough, he goes down. He has a real hard time keeping his head above the water.
“That’s not a good sign, especially in a team like Ferrari. Ferrari is a tough team, and you need to be really strong to survive it. He needs a helping hand to get his mojo back.”
Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images
It was then put to Villeneuve whether winning at Ferrari is worth more to drivers, and he continued: “You have F1 and you have Ferrari. Once you’ve won the championship, if you can win one with Ferrari, then you write history.
“Mostly for a driver like Hamilton, who’s won, I can’t even remember now how many championships.
“It doesn’t matter how many championships you win. If you can win one with Ferrari, it will be worth more than every other championship he’s had because the perception now is some of them were just way too easy at Mercedes.
“So, how many real championships should you have? Maybe three? That’s the same as Schumacher. So many of those Ferrari championships were just, well, there’s no opposition.
“And also, the contract within the team was, you win, and your teammate is there to help you, which is a difference.
“Hamilton does not have that inside Ferrari now. So it’s not the same situation as Schumacher had.”
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Lewis Hamilton suffering at Ferrari with the same problem Michael Schumacher dealt with at Mercedes
During Schumacher’s time at Ferrari, he was partnered by Eddie Irvine and Rubens Barrichello.
Both drivers were happy to play second fiddle at the Scuderia, whereas David Coulthard was offered a Ferrari contract but didn’t want to simply be Schumacher’s teammate.
Team principal Fred Vasseur won’t want to have to choose between Leclerc and Hamilton at any point.
Grand Prix starts306Pole positions68Wins91Podiums155Fastest laps77Career points1566World championships7Michael Schumacher’s Formula 1 record
Ferrari chiefs wanted Hamilton to establish himself as the team’s number one driver, but neither driver has been able to dominate the other.
The 40-year-old is only 16 points behind Leclerc this season, and is trending in the right direction.
However, Schumacher and Hamilton both suffered from the same issue at their final teams, and it’s now up to Vasseur to find a way to unlock the British driver’s ultimate potential as he looks to become the first F1 driver ever to win eight championships.