Peter Windsor, the former Formula One manager of teams like Ferrari and Williams, presented a comparative study on the legends of F1 motorsport, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, and Lewis Hamilton. According to Windsor, Lewis Hamilton is similar to Michael Schumacher in their driving style. Still, he has the edge over the other two drivers regarding his control over the brake pedal. Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher share the most world championship titles with seven each.
Speaking about Senna, Peter Windsor mentioned, “his driving style was quite linear like that of Lewis Hamilton but what separated him from the rest was his ‘incredible precision’.” The legendary Brazilian Formula One racer Ayrton Senna won three championship titles in 1988, 1990, and 1991. He could have won more if not for his untimely death at 34 after a tragic accident on the race track on May 1, 1994.
“Lewis Hamilton Has Reached Michael Schumacher Level”
After Senna’s career cum life was cut short due to the fatal crash, the F1 world witnessed the rise of the future world champion. The legendary German Michael Schumacher dominated the sport breaking all the records made by his predecessors and creating so many of his own. Michael Schumacher raced for Jordan, Benetton, and, in the later stage of his career, for Mercedes. But his most successful collaboration was with Ferrari.
Before he joined Ferrari, he had won two titles with Benetton. When Schumacher joined Ferrari in 1996, the team struggled to win a driver’s championship title after 1979 and the constructor’s championship title in 1983. He came to the team with a contract of $60 million for two years. But from the start of the 21st century until 2004, it was clear who was the undisputed and unbeatable champion of the world. None other than Michael Schumacher of Ferrari. He won back-to-back races from 2000 to 2004, and no one came close.
Michael Schumacher had all sorts of records and titles under his belt until the dawn of a new era in F1 Motorsport came in the form of Lewis Hamilton. In 2008 racing for the Maclaren team, Lewis Hamilton became the first black Formula One Champion. In 2013 Hamilton joined Mercedes, replacing Michael Schumacher. And the rest, as people like to call it, is history! From 2014 to 2020, the Silver Arrows dominated the world of F1 motorsport. In 2020 Lewis Hamilton equaled Schumacher’s number of driver’s championship titles. Besides championship titles, Hamilton has surpassed the great German almost in all other categories of records.
The one feat Michael Schumacher still holds is the fastest race laps with 77. He is followed by Lewis Hamilton with a total of 61. Hamilton, now 38, is eyeing the eighth title to become the ultimate F1 champion. He came so close in 2021 to defending his title and winning the coveted number of driver’s championship titles. The current world champion, Max Verstappen, denied him. The Dutchman, after 2022 is over, has won the championship twice in a row racing for Red Bull. Only the future will tell if one day he will be counted with these three legends of Formula One.