Formula 1 once considered an ‘astonishing’ rule change that would have made Lewis Hamilton an eight-time champion

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Michael Schumacher retired from Formula 1 at the end of the 2006 season having achieved pretty much everything that he could in the sport.

At the time, he had two more drivers’ championships than anyone in history and he had successfully managed to take Ferrari back to the top.

After his contract with the Scuderia ended in 2009, Schumacher returned for three more years with Mercedes which didn’t quite go to plan.

Lewis Hamilton would replace him after his unsuccessful stint and go on to win six titles with them in seven years.

Post first retirement, the German had been serving as an advisor and test driver to Ferrari and nearly made a comeback in 2009 after Felipe Massa’s horrific Hungarian Grand Prix accident.

Valentino Rossi felt paranoid testing with Schumacher at Ferrari in 2006, as they searched for an able replacement for a legend of the sport.

Lewis Hamilton would have been an eight-time F1 champion if ‘astonishing’ rules had changed in 2009

Ahead of the 2009 season, both Ferrari and Hamilton’s McLaren began to struggle with their new cars after a raft of technical changes.

Hamilton nearly ‘exploded like a volcano’ after winning his first F1 title when he realised just how poor their car would be in 2009.

After the FIA announced a change that would crown the world champion based on wins and not points, Schumacher among many other drivers voiced their concerns.

READ MORE: Flavio Briatore recalls why he was ‘not surprised’ when Michael Schumacher quit Benetton for Ferrari

Autosport noted that he wrote the following on his website, sharing his displeasure at the move by the governing body:

“I doubt the same goes for the new rules given out on such a late moment before the season – something which to me is really, well, astonishing,” he said.

“As in all the years, when the majority wanted to have a rule change for a good reason, they always said that would not be possible in a short term or so late before a season.

“I cannot imagine those changes to help F1, especially regarding the new system to find the champion. I cannot see how it makes sense to eventually have a world champion who has less points than the driver coming in second, even if I also think it is a good move to try to strengthen the winner’s position.”

How the FIA’s F1 rule change in 2009 would have made Lewis Hamilton an eight-time champion

The teams were unhappy about such a last-minute decision to impose such a big rule change on the eve of the 2009 season.

The backlash it was met with left the FIA with little choice other than to revert to the old system. In 2010, the points system would eventually change to what we know today.

Winners would receive just 10 points in 2009, while that was bumped up to 25 for the following year. The top 10 would also receive points rather than the top eight.

READ MORE: The Formula 1 drivers with the most runner-up title finishes with Lewis Hamilton close to Fernando Alonso

One of the biggest differences that handing the title to the winner of most Grands Prix would have generated is that Nico Rosberg would not be a champion today.

It means that hypothetically, the change would have made Hamilton an eight-time champion if it had come into force in 2009. He won more races than his German teammate in 2016 (10-9).