Michael Schumacher snubbed four multiple F1 champions when naming his ‘best opponent’, his pick is surprising

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Michael Schumacher has one of the greatest records in the history of Formula 1 and his longevity in the sport meant he raced against the very best for decades.

When Michael Schumacher made his debut in 1991 for Jordan, he was joining a grid that contained the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost and Nelson Piquet.

They all had world championships under their belt and despite only taking part in the final six races of that season, Schumacher finished ahead of more than 20 drivers in the championship.

Schumacher was a race winner the following season with Benetton and it wasn’t long before he was dominating year after year with Ferrari in the early 2000s after Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve had both win titles.

Towards the end of his career, Schumacher also battled with Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel who all went on to win multiple world championships.

However, speaking to BBC Sport back in 2011 during his return to F1 with Mercedes, Schumacher named another driver as his best opponent.

Schumacher only finished 2^nd in the Drivers’ Championship twice in his career.

The second occasion was during what people were expecting to be Schumacher’s final season in 2006 when he was narrowly beaten by Alonso.

However, the first time Schumacher had to settle for finishing as a runner-up was in 1998.

Ferrari and McLaren were the superpowers in F1 at the time and Schumacher missed out on the title by 14 points to Mika Hakkinen.

The Finnish won back-to-back titles by securing victory in 1999 before retiring just a couple of years later.

Schumacher was incredibly complimentary about Hakkinen at the end of his Formula 1 career, particularly the way they battled on track.

Michael Schumacher once called Mika Hakkinen his ‘best opponent’ in Formula 1

Talking to BBC Sport in 2011, Schumacher said: “Mika Hakkinen was the best opponent in terms of his quality, but the biggest admiration I had for him was we had 100% fight on track but a totally disciplined life off track.

“We respected each other highly and let each other live quietly.”

In the 1998 season, Schumacher had a 30-point lead over Hakkinen’s teammate David Coulthard, highlighting just how dominant the two multiple world champions were that year.

Hakkinen and Schumacher won 14 out of the 16 races that year, with Coulthard’s impressive victory in San Marino – Schumacher finished 2^nd while Hakkinen retired – and Hill’s final F1 win in Belgium – with both championship leaders out of the race – the only times they failed to stand on the top step of the podium.

Mika Hakkinen unable to match Michael Schumacher’s longevity in Formula 1

Schumacher and Hakkinen both started their Formula 1 careers in 1991, with Hakkinen securing a full-time contract with Lotus after winning the British F3 Championship the year before.

However, Hakkinen retired from F1 at the end of the 2001 season partly because of a huge crash he had suffered during the opening round in Australia that year.

He said to ITV F1: “The accident in Melbourne this season, when my suspension broke, affected me more than anyone could see from the outside.”

Initially, Hakkinen took a sabbatical at the end of the 2001 campaign but it was clear that he was never going to return to the grid.

Despite that, Hakkinen’s reputation as one of the fastest drivers of his generation is solidified.

Martin Brundle said Hakkinen had more raw speed than Schumacher during his time in the sport which is a huge compliment.

The pair had some brilliant battles during their time in Formula 1 although it’s hard to know if Hakkinen could have done anything about Schumacher and Ferrari’s dominance over the next few years after his retirement.