Lewis Hamilton Remembers Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen in Honor of Spa Francorchamps’ Legacy

Many drivers have regarded the Spa-Francorchamps circuit as one of the most legendary tracks on the F1 calendar. Lewis Hamilton also commented on the same, ahead of last weekend’s Belgian GP, and he used fellow seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher’s brilliance as an example.

During the drivers’ parade ahead of the race in Belgium, he said,

“I am just thinking about the history and how lucky are we here. I remember growing up watching Mika [Hakkinen] and [Michael] Schumacher down here“.

One of Schumacher’s biggest rivals was Mika Hakkinen, and the two legendary drivers fought multiple times in Spa in the build-up to their intense Championship duels.

In 2000 Belgian GP, Hakkinen produced one of the best overtakes in the track’s history, when he passed Schumacher in Les Combes, by using Ricardo Zonta’s lapped car as a dummy.

Spa-Francorchamps. 2000. @F1MikaHakkinen. Michael Schumacher.

Overtakes don’t get much more incredible than this!

Where does it rank in your list of all-time overtakes?#F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/j3Uni5YLKI

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 20, 2018

Hakkinen used Zonta to put Schumacher in an uncomfortable situation before passing both drivers. He would go on to win the race, finishing ahead of Schumacher and his brother Ralf.

Hamilton thought about incidents like that ahead of this year’s Belgian GP, which he won. However, the victory came in a way he wouldn’t have preferred, ideally.

Hamilton won the Belgian GP at George Russell’s expense

Hamilton and George Russell were very close to each other in the last few laps of the 2024 Belgian GP, and thanks to the latter’s strategy choice, he prevailed.  Despite Hamilton’s best efforts, he couldn’t pass Russell.

Regardless, it was a 1-2 finish for Mercedes, which capped off another brilliant weekend for the Brackley-based team.

The updated race result moves Lewis up to P1 – his 105th win in F1 pic.twitter.com/DdiBHMMAVH

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) July 28, 2024

However, after the race, Russell’s car was found to be underweight. As such, he was disqualified from the race, through no fault of his own, and Hamilton, who finished P2, got the winner’s trophy.

Heartbreak for Russell, but relief and happiness for Hamilton, who won his 105th F1 Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps.