Jacques Villeneuve explains why he thinks Niki Lauda was a better F1 world champion than Michael Schumacher

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Michael Schumacher is statistically one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time, with seven world championship titles between 1994 and 2004.

Some question whether Schumacher had it easier than others during his 19-year F1 career, including his first championship victory.

The 1994 season with Benetton was marred by controversy, as Schumacher ended the year by colliding with Damon Hill, resulting in the Brit losing the title by a single point.

Then three years later in 1997, whilst racing with Ferrari, Schumacher deliberately crashed into Jacques Villeneuve in an attempt to take them both out and win the title.

The German led the championship by a single point heading into the season finale, with the pair colliding as they battled for the lead, which resulted in Schumacher retiring.

The move didn’t work, and he would go on to be disqualified, but it showed his sheer ruthlessness behind the wheel in his latter years at Ferrari, where he went on to win five titles.

Discussing who he thinks is the better F1 World Champion between Niki Lauda and Schumacher on the Red Flags podcast, Villeneuve explains why he thinks the Austrian was better.

Jacques Villeneuve thinks Niki Lauda was better than Michael Schumacher

Villeneuve believes the main difference between him and Schumacher was down to how they were treated within their respective teams, with Lauda offered little protection when he made his comeback.

Lauda famously returned after two races following a crash that nearly claimed his life in 1976 at the Nurburgring.

The Austrian suffered severe burns to his face and head, as well as losing most of his right ear. Despite having to miss the Austrian and Dutch grands prix, as he recovered, Lauda made a miraculous return in Monza and finished just one point behind James Hunt in the title battle.

“He [Lauda] made sure that he was the one that the team had to rely on at some point, because he came back after his crash, and he didn’t have the protection of his team. When he went to McLaren, it was Prost’s team and he beat him,” said Villeneuve.

“So I would give him the nod. With Schumacher, a lot of the races, the teammate was there to help him win. And that was a contractual thing. He’s one of the greatest, but among the greatest, there are some differences.”

Jacques Villeneuve explains how Niki Lauda won in two different eras of F1

Villeneuve believes Lauda is one of the standouts of the sport, mainly because of the significant changes to technology during his career, which, in the Canadian’s eyes, gives him the edge over Schumacher.

The Austrian was one of the few drivers who won in F1 during different eras, with his first titles coming in 1975 and 1977 with Ferrari, before going on to win again for a final time in 1984 with McLaren.

“Lauda was really, in his era, the driver who stood out. Because a lot of those drivers were killed, and he always managed to maximise what he had in his car, to feel it, to understand where it was going in a day when there was no data,” said Villeneuve.

The 1997 champion added: “[There was] very little knowledge about car setup, and it was all done by feel. But Lauda won with cars that were at the end of that era, then came back in the more modern era with turbos and managed to win again. So I would give the edge to Lauda.”

Both Jackie Stewart and Lauda have the same number of titles, although it was the former who is often credited with striving for better safety standards after living through a period of drivers dying almost weekly.