The two seven-time champions of F1 — Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton — often come under the same radar of comparisons with several similarities in their careers. Both drivers won their maiden titles with a customer team before moving to a works manufacturer side, where they went on to establish utter dominance in the sport.
While it is still subjective to pick either of the two as the GOAT of F1, former Mercedes engineer Philippe Brandle has shed light on another similarity between Hamilton and Schumacher, which makes the comparisons even tougher. In an interview with Motorsport-Total, Brandle said,
“He [Hamilton] has an incredible feel for the car, just like Michael Schumacher was said to have back then. He feels the car like no other, so if it feels like a screw is loose somewhere at 320 kilometers per hour, he can feel it right from the start.”
| Lewis Hamilton compared to Michael Schumacher by his former aerodynamics engineer Philipp Brändle.
| This incredible feel for the car is a trait that multiple engineers who have worked with the seven-time World Champion highlighted in the past.#F1 #Formula1 pic.twitter.com/SELONJcYOB
— Racing Infinity (@RacingInfinity1) August 20, 2024
Brandle used to serve as Hamilton‘s performance engineer at Mercedes, besides also being an aerodynamicist. Thus, Brandle had a detailed perspective to analyze the Briton’s driving skills.
Brandle stated that Hamilton can “judge” things very well. Back in the day, even Schumacher received such praise. Amid all those statistical comparisons, this adds to the debate of who is the better among the two seven-time champions.
About Hamilton, Brandle also praised the 39-year-old’s tire management skills by labeling him a “tire whisperer”. Brandle highlighted the 2019 Hungarian GP example of how Hamilton was sublime with his tire management and maximized his two-stop strategy.
Although Hamilton will turn 40 next year, he still has a lot of racing left in him and his new deal with Ferrari highlights the same. When the Briton moves to Ferrari next season, he will look to emulate Schumacher’s championship success at least once to cap off his career in style.
Hamilton took inspiration from Schumacher to sign for Ferrari
After Hamilton signed his Ferrari deal, he opened up about it being a childhood dream for him. Moreover, Schumacher’s success with the Prancing Horse also played a key role in making Ferrari a dream team for the Briton, as it did for several drivers previously.
Hamilton said, “Like all drivers, I watched Michael Schumacher in my youth in his heyday. You think about what it would be like to drive in red one day. When I played Formula 1 on the computer, I always competed as Michael. Then you see the many fans at the races in Italy.”
It almost seemed at one point in time that Hamilton will never drive in the scarlet red colors of Ferrari. After staying at Mercedes for over 12 years, it was looking more and more likely that he would retire at the Brackley stable itself. But Mercedes’ continuous struggles since 2022 convinced him to take a risk with a move to Maranello.
