‘I raced Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher in F1 – this is who the greatest is’

Being in the unique position of having raced against both Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher makes Rubens Barrichello more qualified than most to name the better of the two

Former F1 star Rubens Barrichello believes Lewis Hamilton is a more talented driver than Michael Schumacher.

The debate over who is the superior between the two legends of the sport has been a long-standing hot topic, especially since both have clinched seven F1 drivers’ titles each. Hamilton was on the brink of surpassing Schumacher in 2021, but the contentious conclusion to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix saw Max Verstappen triumph instead.

As the Brit gears up to take on Schumacher’s former stomping ground, Ferrari, he’s aiming to once again compete at the top and finally secure a record eighth championship. Naturally, the GOAT debate will soon be raging once more.

Only a few drivers can say they’ve raced both of the greats, including Brazil’s Barrichello – who was also Schumacher’s team-mate at Maranello. He’s already made clear his thoughts on the subject.

“Hamilton better than Schumacher? I think so,” Barrichello confessed back in 2020. “I competed with both but was only there in the early years of Hamilton, but I think so.”

Having raced from 1993 to 2011, Barrichello witnessed all of Schumacher’s championship victories first-hand, including an unprecedented five straight titles from 2000 to 2004. Although Hamilton clinched his first world championship in 2008 and didn’t secure another until 2014, he has since dominated the sport’s hybrid era.

Despite Schumacher’s impressive record during his heyday, Barrichello thinks Hamilton is the superior driver – a belief shared by Williams team principal James Vowles, who worked with them both at Mercedes. Schumacher returned to the paddock in 2010 and raced against Hamilton’s McLaren for three years before the Brit replaced him at the German outfit.

Vowles told the High Performance podcast: “With Lewis, when he joined us [he] was, and still is today, the most – within my Mercedes career – the most naturally talented driver I’ve worked with, including Michael. Just so much natural talent.

“That journey we took him on was, ‘We’ll win championships together’. His mentality at the time when he joined was a brilliant one, I can see why he’s so successful, but it was, ‘I’m going to win every race at all costs, it doesn’t matter what the cost is’.

“Lewis just has oodles of natural talent. And, with him, he’s got these tendencies and traits where when you go out in FP1, he’s like an octopus all over the wheel. He’ll change every setting on the wheel near enough and explore it. But it’s what makes him incredible.”