The F1 GOAT debate will always have two names come what may – Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher. In any record list of the sport, Schumacher and Hamilton’s name missing is quite a rarity. These two drivers have become synonymous with Formula 1 owing to their unprecedented level of success and dominance. People often debate who among the two seven-time champions is the better driver or the more dominant champion. While the statistics don’t give the entire subjective picture, we shall compare the stats for these two F1 GOATs besides their equivalent world titles, to gain some insight into where the duo stands on different fronts.
Both Hamilton and Schumacher drove in different eras of F1. Their careers only overlapped during the latter’s brief return to Mercedes for three years. However, it is pertinent to note that the German champion was past his prime during that stint.
Other than that, Hamilton debuted in F1 after Schumacher’s first retirement. So, a direct comparison of some statistics like points scored may be an apples-to-oranges comparison due to differences in points systems.
Lewis Hamilton
Grand Prix Wins: 103
Lewis Hamilton surpassed Michael Schumacher’s wins tally in the 2020 season to take the record for most Grand Prix victories in F1. Hamilton is also the only driver to get to a century of victories at the pinnacle of motorsport, with his tally standing at 103 wins now.
However, in the past two years of the new ground effect era, the Briton has not won any races. His last race win came at the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP. Hamilton’s tally of most wins in a single season is 11. However, he never won more than five races in a row.
Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton has scored twice as many #F1 wins as the Maranello-based team since making his debut in 2007
Will the 7-time champion be the key difference for the Scuderia as it seeks a first world title since 2008? pic.twitter.com/qg3rMwqzkR
— Autosport (@autosport) February 1, 2024
Podiums: 197
In terms of podiums too, Hamilton tops the charts at 197 podiums in 332 race starts. Just three short of completing a double century of podium finishes, the 39-year-old has rarely been off the podium in his 17-year career so far.
Even in the past two seasons when Mercedes struggled badly on performance, Hamilton stood on the podium 15 times in 44 races. The Mercedes driver’s longest podium streak is 16. Meanwhile, his tally of most podiums in a single season stands at 17.
Poles: 104
Hamilton can certainly be considered one of the greatest qualifiers in F1 history. His pace over a flying lap is supreme, quite reminiscent of dominant talents like Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. Hamilton surpassed the German champion’s poles at the 2017 Italian GP and now has 104 to his name.
Since then, he is the only driver to notch up a century of pole positions, just like his Grand Prix wins. His last pole position came at the 2023 Hungarian GP, in quite an unexpected manner. The most poles Hamilton got in a single season is 12.
Lewis Hamilton is on pole position for the #ItalianGP and breaks Michael Schumacher’s pole record pic.twitter.com/4FT0EpEktb
— Autosport (@autosport) September 2, 2017
Fastest Laps: 65
Having some rapid pace over a lap, Hamilton often collects the fastest lap of the Grand Prix. His current tally stands at 65.
Average Finish: 3.48
Having won 103 races from his 332 race starts, Hamilton has got a great win percentage. Naturally, it also boosts his average finish position to 3.48. It almost assures that the Briton will finish on the podium for most of the races which is a tremendous stat to have.
Michael Schumacher
Grand Prix wins: 91
Michael Schumacher had the long-standing record for most Grand Prix wins at 91 victories. It was at the 2020 Eifel GP when Hamilton equaled his record and at the next race in Portugal, broke his record to get his 92nd win.
Still, having the 2nd highest wins tally holds Schumacher above all other drivers. Given the 3rd highest driver now is Max Verstappen at 54 wins, the Ferrari legend is going to stay at #2 for at least some time.
His last race win came in his final season for Ferrari in China. Schumacher once also had the record for most wins in a single season at 13. Verstappen now holds this record at 19 wins, courtesy of his 2023 season. Meanwhile, Schumacher’s highest streak of consecutive wins is 7.
Podiums: 155
Similar to the wins tally, Schumacher now stands 2nd in terms of podiums too. Still, 155 podiums in 306 race starts is an impressive record to possess, with over 50% podium finish percentage.
The Ferrari veteran’s most podiums tally in a single season stands at 17. Meanwhile, his longest streak of consecutive podiums was 19.
Poles: 68
Schumacher was also incredibly quick over a single lap. However, he mainly utilized this skill whenever necessary strategically in races. Still, 68 pole positions again put him 2nd behind only Hamilton’s tally.
Technically, the German driver got another pole in the 2012 season in Monaco. Being the fastest in qualifying, he was set to start the Monaco GP on pole. But due to a 5-place grid penalty from the previous race in Spain, he started P6. So, his last pole position came in 2006 in France. Meanwhile, the most pole positions in a single year Schumacher got is 11.
Emotional swings of a @f1 weekend: At the Monaco GP 2012, Michael took pole position in qualifying, but was unable to start the race from the first grid position on Sunday. He had been relegated 5 places on the grid for causing a collision in the race before. D. Dilkoff / AFP pic.twitter.com/PiSbcE6a7P
— Michael Schumacher (@schumacher) May 27, 2022
Fastest laps: 77
Contrasting to the modern day when there is an extra point for fastest laps, Schumacher got more fastest laps in his day than Hamilton. As mentioned earlier, he tended to put qualifying-style laps during the races to edge out his competitors. This earned him several fastest laps of the Grands Prix, taking his tally to 77.
Average Finish: 4.12
Schumacher has a slightly lower average finish than Hamilton at 4.12. Still, it shows how consistent the former Ferrari driver was. Finishing in the top 4 or 5 in every single race is a feat only a few drivers have been able to achieve.
Who has better stats among Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton?
Besides being equal on championships, Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher are closely matched on several fronts. However, the former still has the edge on many records such as wins, poles, and podiums.
This can be attributed to the fact that the Briton is still active and has raced in the modern era where we have more number of races. Certainly, their career points tally cannot be compared as Schumacher raced in an era where there were only 10 points for a race win, compared to today’s 25.
Thus, due to the lesser number of races during the German’s time, it’s difficult to make a fair comparison. Regardless, objectively the #44 driver holds the edge.
