For Hamilton, Vettel is not the new Schumacher

During a recent joint interview with Sebastian Vettel on the official Formula One website, Bernie Ecclestone did not rule out the possibility of a Red Bull era just as there was a Ferrari era with Michael Schumacher. However, this statement is far from gaining the agreement of the closest rivals of the reigning world champion, starting with Lewis Hamilton, who was, in his time, accorded the same respect before witnessing the rise of Red Bull and its young hopeful.

« I think it’s a different era, the rules are constantly changing, » states the McLaren driver. « Red Bull has clearly established that they are a strong team, but there are plenty of other strong teams like Renault, which is apparently stronger this year. Then there’s Mercedes, who are there or not far off. There’s even Williams […] who knows if they won’t be back at the front, with us, which would be great for the sport I think. »

Jenson Button, the only driver alongside Lewis Hamilton to have beaten Red Bull this season, shares his teammate’s opinion: « It’s difficult to compare. They are extremely fast and they are reliable. Last year, they were fast but didn’t have reliability on their side, so, objectively, they have made a step forward. »

« They are really strong in many areas, so it’s difficult to beat them, but we have defeated them twice. It’s not as much as we would like, but they are beatable. Michael won 13 races or something like that at the start of a season, so we just hope that doesn’t happen. »

Despite everything, McLaren’s two victories this season were achieved by capitalizing on the mistakes of the Austrian team and its favorite driver, whether it was a strategic error, like in China, or a driving error, like in Canada. “We are close to them. It’s not as if they have a considerable advantage like one or two seconds or something like that,” insists the 2009 world champion.

However, despite the dispute over this possible Red Bull era, the numbers speak for themselves. After 70 Grand Prix races, Vettel has 16 victories, 22 pole positions, and one world championship title, which he seems well on his way to retaining by the end of this season. At the same time, Michael Schumacher had just won his second title, with 19 victories but ‘only’ ten pole positions.

The records are made to be broken by someone and Sebastian is on that path, says Michael Schumacher who also thinks it will be difficult to prevent Vettel from winning his second driver title this season.

From there to knowing if the young German driver, often nicknamed ‘Baby Schumi’, will match or beat the record of five consecutive titles set by Schumacher in 2004, the Mercedes driver simply responds: Maybe!

The fact remains that the Red Baron – who has since become Gray – would not hold it against his 19-year-old junior if he were to one day surpass some of his numerous records: « He’s a good friend of mine so I wouldn’t have any resentment if he broke my records. I think he would deserve it because he will have worked hard for it. »

From the height of his achievements, the statistical giant has some wise advice to offer his counterpart: « He should never feel unbeatable because we know how fragile things are, how much work and attention are needed to be in this position, to stay there and how quickly it can all change. He may not yet have that experience, but I do. »

The German indeed experienced this twice, first in 1996 when he joined a Ferrari team on the path to redemption after more than 15 years of scarcity, but especially in 2005 when, as a five-time reigning champion, he endured one of his worst seasons with a win at Indianapolis where only teams equipped with Bridgestone started: « For now, he manages to make the most of the situation, so there could always be a period of domination. »

Despite everything, beyond the simple statistical fact, Michael Schumacher made history in Formula One by ‘awakening’ his people to Formula One, a flame that Sebastian Vettel can only continue to nurture: [We need] to see how he developed, in a context where I made F1 popular in Germany, increasing the interest of automotive industries that supported these kids and gave them their chance. Sebastian seized his, he learned from everything he could and it’s great to see that.

Germany indeed had only two drivers in Formula One at the time of Michael Schumacher’s arrival – he himself was well supported by Mercedes, to whom he is now returning the favor – whereas today there will be no fewer than six at the starting line of the next British Grand Prix, not to mention the young Nico Hülkenberg who participated in the free practice sessions for the Force India team.