Michael Schumacher has often been hailed as having revived Ferrari in F1 after the team suffered a 16-year title drought, but Lewis Hamilton thinks otherwise. In 2020, the Briton shared how the presence of one driver does not build a championship-winning empire and asserted how Schumacher was not the only one to help return the glory to Maranello.
Hamilton joined Mercedes in 2013 and benefited from the German giant’s impressive High Performance Powertrains results as the paddock shifted to the V6 turbo-hybrid era of cars. In the following seven years, he won six drivers’ titles, and his reign at the top was only hindered by Nico Rosberg in 2016.
This led some people to draw criticism of him and compare how Schumacher had built the Ferrari empire from scratch. However, Hamilton reasoned differently as he asserted that the presence of a single driver is not merely enough to transform a team into a championship-winning outfit, but a holistic approach is required in measuring a team’s success, as he said (via The Race)
“Years ago, I remember when they talked about Michael, turning Ferrari around. The fact is it’s not one individual. I have not turned Mercedes around. Michael did not turn Ferrari around – as much as I love Michael and he is a legend, it wasn’t just him.”
“There’s so many people in the background. What they did is the collaboration. I think the thing with a driver like Michael and I, our job is to kind of be the rudder.”
Meanwhile, Schumacher and Hamilton, both seven-time champions, have driven for Ferrari and Mercedes in their F1 careers.
Lewis Hamilton shares his hopes for the 2026 season after a dismal start to his Ferrari chapter in 2025
Though Michael Schumacher’s career in F1 ended over a decade ago, Lewis Hamilton is going full pelt in his own F1 journey. He joined Ferrari over the winter break and is aiming to do what the German was unable to conquer, an eighth world title with the Scuderia.
While the start to the 2025 season has not been the best, as Hamilton is yet to score a podium finish in the Grand Prix format, he is already working on acing the 2026 regulations reset. The Briton wants some of his “DNA” in the 2026 challenger, as he revealed to Sky Sports F1:
“It’s still tough. It’s a tough balance to drive and it’s not a comfortable one. It’s not one that I want to have in future. So I’m working with Loic (Serra) and all the guys at the factory to make sure that the next car will have some of my DNA.”
Lewis Hamilton currently sits sixth, one spot behind teammate Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ standings.
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Edited by Mitali
