Michael Schumacher may be better than Lewis Hamilton after all and one stat proves it

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Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton are widely regarded as the two greatest drivers in the history of Formula 1.

They’re level on championships with a joint-record seven, have the most race wins, the most pole positions and the two most dominant spells of form that the sport has ever seen.

Max Verstappen is trying his best to catch up to them with Red Bull but, for now, Schumacher and Hamilton are firmly on top.

The Dutchman is only 27 years old, so Verstappen still has plenty of time to make a move and could very well end up ahead of both of them due also to holding a contract until the end of 2028.

Ironically, Hamilton could benefit when he joins Ferrari in 2025, the team Schumacher enjoyed so much success with, as the Brit looks to pull clear of his former German rival and re-establish some distance from Verstappen.

Both will have to contend with new rivals McLaren though, who might have the fastest car on the grid and have their eyes set on some records of their own with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri behind the wheel.

Michael Schumacher took more wins with the fastest race lap than Lewis Hamilton has managed

Hamilton’s move to Ferrari in 2025 will also see the Briton add yet further Grand Prix entries and starts to his record, which already boasts some 50 more races than Schumacher started in his career – showing just how many more events are on the calendar nowadays.

But over those extra races, Hamilton hasn’t added much to the winning column after being condemned to a slow Mercedes car for the past three seasons.

Hamilton managed a record-breaking British Grand Prix win in 2024, claiming his ninth at the circuit (the most by any F1 driver at any track) and giving his farewell season a silver lining.

Looking back on their dominant spells, Schumacher secured five titles with Ferrari and Hamilton six with Mercedes. But the German has the advantage in races where they took both the win and the fastest lap home.

With 48 of them, Schumacher scored a win with the fastest lap double 16 more than Hamilton, who has claimed just 32 to date.

But the introduction of the fastest lap point in 2019 may have taken a few away from the Brit as drivers with a large enough gap to the car behind often pit at the end of races for new tyres.

Regardless, it indicates that when they were at their quickest and best, Schumacher was more about sailing off into the distance.

How else was Michael Schumacher more dominant than Lewis Hamilton?

That isn’t the only statistic which indicates who may have been better, with Schumacher having finished inside the top three of the drivers’ standings on 12 occasions to Hamilton’s 11 to date.

Schumacher also achieved his number of top-three championship finishes across 18 full-time seasons (including his comeback with Mercedes) and Hamilton matches that number, too.

It’s close either way currently, but 2025 represents an opportunity for Hamilton to pull clear, especially if he can work harmoniously with Charles Leclerc.

They could lead Ferrari to heights that they haven’t seen since around the time of Schumacher’s retirement, some 20 years ago.