Michael Schumacher retired from F1 at the end of the 2006 season as a seven-time World Champion. The very next season, a young rookie named Lewis Hamilton made his debut with McLaren and took the sport by storm. Hamilton went on to compete for the Title in his very first year, shocking the entire F1 community and teammate Fernando Alonso in particular.
In the end, Hamilton lost out on the Title by a solitary point and it went in favor of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. However, his record-breaking rookie campaign set the stage for what was about to be a glittering career for the Stevenage-born driver. His performances earned him plenty of plaudits and among them was Schumacher.
2007 was his first season away from F1 as a driver, but he kept a close eye on Hamilton. In an interview with Sky, the German driver called Hamilton a ‘very talented driver’ and admitted that he wasn’t surprised about his meteoric rise to the top.
Michael Schumacher closely followed Lewis Hamilton’s GP2 season
Hamilton took part in the GP2 season in 2006 and won it in his first attempt. After a dominant Championship season, a spot opened up at McLaren in F1 and the Woking-based squad signed him up immediately.
“Not of a surprise, he’s that successful,” Schumacher said about Hamilton. “Because seeing his GP2 season last season. I watched and followed the season closely because the team manager (at Hamilton’s team ART), Nicholas Todt, is obviously very closely related to us.”
Schumacher went on to say that he met a young Hamilton in Turkey in 2006 where they had a quick chat.
“This was actually a tremendous race that he did over there,” he continued. “So for me, it’s not a surprise. He just shows up the way he’s doing. It’s a surprise he does it that consistently. But, we cross fingers that he keeps it up.”
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Hamilton lived up to Schumacher’s expectations
Schumacher hoped that Hamilton lived up to his promise and saying that he did would be an understatement. The 37-year-old stands at the top of the F1 pedestal today, having smashed all records in his way. He has the most number of race wins, pole positions and fastest laps of any driver in history.
In terms of World Championships, he is sharing the stage with Michael Schumacher himself. Both of them have seven Titles to their name. Hamilton, however, is looking to break the record and win his eighth World Title before he retires from F1.
