Whenever the debate of who is the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) of Formula 1 comes up, Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher’s names are often at the top of the list. And while Hamilton has equaled or surpassed the German in many records, there is one particular record in which Schumacher still holds the advantage over the Briton.
In records like the most number of wins, most pole positions, and most podium finishes, Hamilton has edged Schumacher by a fair distance. However, when it comes to fastest laps, Schumacher holds the lead over Hamilton with 77 to 67.
TIL although Hamilton holds the record for most F1 wins – with 14 more than Michael Schumacher, Schumi still has 10 more fastest laps than Hamilton (77 vs 67 respectively).
byu/Double-decker_trams informula1
While it’s tricky to make a precise comparison between the two drivers over the course of their careers as they raced in two different eras with drastically different rules, there is certainly something to be said about their driving styles. Having worked with both drivers at Mercedes, trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin once spoke about how the two greats of the sport compare when it comes to their performance on the track.
And surprisingly enough, according to Shovlin, they aren’t too different in terms of their approach to driving. In an episode of the ‘F1 Nation’ podcast back in 2020, Shovlin revealed how the two drivers were extremely quick to adapt to however the car needed to be set up for a given track.
Whether it was understeer or oversteer, they both were able to find a way to extract the last possible bit of performance of the car. While the fastest lap of the race might not have had that big of a significance during Schumacher’s prime years, it does now as the driver in the top 10 is awarded an extra point for claiming it.
One point may not seem like much over the course of a whole season, but considering how Daniel Ricciardo taking away that point from Lando Norris in Singapore has affected the Briton’s chances of winning the championship, it does make a big difference.
FIA to stop awarding points for the fastest lap
Implemented in 2019, the point for the fastest lap of the race among the top 10 drivers has created some controversies and was not always well-received by the drivers as they thought it was highly dependent on the driver’s race situation. On Thursday, ahead of the US Grand Prix, the FIA announced that they will scrape away this rule from the 2025 season onwards and the drivers seem to be quite happy with this decision.
During an interview, George Russell shared his thoughts on this decision, stating, “I always thought the point for fastest lap was a bit pointless because, it would always be the driver who was having a tough race in the top ten would pit, put new tires on and gain the extra point. So I never really saw the benefit of that. So sort of glad to see that that’s gone.”
| George Russell on the fastest lap point being scrapped from 2025:
“I always felt the fastest lap was a bit of a strange rule… I’m not sad to see it go.” #USGP #F1pic.twitter.com/3BOunLZlpq
— Team George Russell (@TeamGR63) October 17, 2024
Other drivers including Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri also echoed similar sentiments.
