When Michael Schumacher raced Formula 1 rival Lewis Hamilton for the first time – on the go-kart track

Follow us on Google Discover

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg may have eventually become teammates in Formula 1, but their first encounter with seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher occurred in the World Championship Karting final in Kerpen, Germany, in 2001.

At that time, Schumacher was at the peak of his career, having just secured his fourth F1 world drivers’ title and second with Ferrari.

Meanwhile, Hamilton and Rosberg were making their mark in the karting world, both aiming to move up to the junior ladder of car racing the following year.

Hamilton was about to jump up to Formula Renault having already signed for McLaren as a junior driver.

Schumacher struggles in karting qualifier against future rivals Hamilton and Rosberg

The conditions going into qualifying that day were treacherous, and Schumacher could only put his kart on the 11^th row of the grid.

He climbed to 8^th in his first race but technical problems and being tagged on the first corner meant he only finished 15^th in his second heat.

That was enough to qualify for the finals, alongside Hamilton and Rosberg.

Schumacher shows World Champion quality in final races

Schumacher start the first heat of the final in 16th position, while Hamilton qualified in 26th.

Despite Schumacher’s efforts to move up the ranks, another mechanical failure cost him after gaining several positions.

On the other hand, Hamilton finished seventh after starting much further back of the grid.

In the final race of the race, Schumacher, Hamilton and Rosberg all finished strongly.

Schumacher drove as you would expect through the grid, and thanks to a late crash and disqualification, finished in second place.

He was followed by Nico Rosberg who shared the podium with him that day.

Unfortunately, the German pair were never able to replicate that during their time together in Formula 1 with Mercedes.

Lewis Hamilton wasn’t far behind in seventh place and admitted after the event he couldn’t get near the world champion.

“I never really had a chance to get near Schumacher, which was a shame because I’d have like to have beaten him around a few corners,” Hamilton said.

“I could see him in the distance in the second race, but to be fair it didn’t really make much of a difference to me.”

Schumacher recognizes Hamilton’s F1 potential

There was already some hype growing around Hamilton in Formula 1 circles at the time, despite being just 16.

After the race, Schumacher said: “He’s a quality driver, very strong and only 16.

“If he keeps this up I’m sure he will reach F1. It’s something special to see a kid of his age out on the circuit. He’s clearly got the right racing mentality.”

Schumacher was right, although the German’s retirement perfectly coincided with Hamilton’s debut.

However, the legendary German couldn’t resist a return to F1 in 2020 and spent three seasons racing against the Brit who eventually ended up matching his seven Drivers Championships.