Michael Schumacher foresaw Lewis Hamilton emulating his legacy in F1 even before the Briton won his first championship.
The Ferrari legend Michael Schumacher is arguable the best driver to ever grace F1. His seven championships remained untouched for over 16 years until Lewis Hamilton equalled them in 2020.
However, 12 years ago, Schumacher foresaw that his legacy could be overturned by the upcoming generation of Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.
And the former Ferrari driver was right. Together both Vettel and Hamilton have won 11 world titles. Schumacher back then believed that records are there only to be broken.
“Can any driver dominate Formula 1 the way you did?” asked the TV host to Schumacher. “I would say absolutely yes! Because, nobody thought, neither me, myself, I thought I could beat the five of Fangio.”
“And then I did and I even increased it to seven. Records are there to be beaten, and I am quite relaxed that one day it would happen. Whether it is Lewis [Hamilton], [Felipe] Massa, or it’s Sebastian Vettel or whoever.”
“It might be somebody of the current or of the future that could or will do it. I have no problem about it.”
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The family of Michael Schumacher honoured Lewis Hamilton
During the Eifel GP 2020, Hamilton equalled the record of Schumacher’s 91 wins. In response, the Briton was felicitated with Schumacher’s helmet, which he also wore during his then 91st win, by the Ferrari legend’s son and now Haas driver Mick Schumacher.
Hamilton was overwhelmed by this mark of respect by the Schumacher family. He then talked about how his predecessor at Mercedes inspired him on this F1 journey.
Mick Schumacher presenting Lewis Hamilton with one of his dad’s race helmets to commemorate his 91st win ❤️ pic.twitter.com/TuTifm18ph
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) October 11, 2020
“I don’t even know what to say,” said Hamilton after the ceremony. “When you grow up watching someone you generally idolise them in terms of the quality of the driver they are but also what they can continuously do a race on race, year on year, week on week.”
“There was a game called Grand Prix 2, and I remember playing as Michael and seeing his dominance for so long I don’t think anyone, especially me, didn’t imagine that I’d be anywhere near Michael in terms of records.”
“So it’s an incredible honour, and it’s going to take some time to get used to it. When I came into the pit lane that’s only when I realised I had equalled it, I hadn’t even computed it when I had crossed the line.”
Also read: Michael Schumacher gave greatest gift to Sebastian Vettel in his last F1 race
