Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton in numbers

Since the 1992 Formula One Season, there has not been an F1 campaign without a victory from either Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, probably the two greatest drivers in the history of the sport. As overwhelming at that stat might be, it does not come close to the numbers each champion has established with indelible ink in the history books.

Of course, Schumacher dominated the sport from the mid-1990s until 2004, although he still competed for championships in the years after, especially in 2006. After winning five consecutive titles between 2000 and 2004, he became the first driver to achieve such a feat and remains the only one to ever do it.

With Benetton, Schumacher won a total of 19 races (more than what champions as Emerson Fittipaldi or Jack Brabham had in their whole career) and two World Drivers’ Championships (1994 and 1995) in 68 Grands Prix. Then, he went to Ferrari for the 1996 season and added 72 victories to his tally and five titles (2000-2004), breaking the biggest records of the sport at the time.

After his first retirement in 2006, Schumacher had won seven titles, 91 races, and scored 68 Pole Positions in 248 starts. On the other hand, Hamilton entered the sport right after Schumacher’s first retirement. He won four races as a rookie in 2007 and took a special championship in 2008 for McLaren. After his first six seasons, he had 21 wins (more than Mika Hakkinen had in his entire F1 journey) with the Woking-based team, 26 Poles, and 49 podiums in 110 races.

Similar to the German legend in 1996, Hamilton’s move to an underperforming Mercedes team paid off well for his legendary career, as he has been able to win five titles with the German team and added 63 victories to his resume. Hamilton has broken Schumacher’s record of Pole Positions, with his current tally being 88 Poles, the highest-ever.

If we take the statistics of both drivers and combine them, even including Schumacher’s years with Mercedes, the records are just stunning. Together, Schumacher and Hamilton have won 13 of the 70 World Drivers’ Championships in history, and that tally can still grow larger since Hamilton is still active.

They have won 175 races between them, which represents an amazing 17.2% out of the 1018 Grands Prix in the history of Formula 1, the other 843 races (82.8%) were won by 106 drivers. They’ve taken 156 Pole Positions, which is 15.3% of the total number of GPs and got the Fastest Laps in 124 races (12.2%).

While Schumacher holds the record for the most consecutive seasons with at least one victory (15, between 1992 and 2006), Hamilton sits second in the list with 13. However, Hamilton has done it in every season he has competed and his streak is still alive.

What’s amazing about the last stat, is that Schumacher’s streak of Grand Prix-winning seasons stopped in 2006, while Hamilton’s started in 2007. Which means that the last season in which none of these two men won a race was in 1991 when more than half of the 2020 Formula 1 drivers had not been born yet.
Earnings

It is just normal to assume these two legends are the highest-paid drivers in the history of the sport. Schumacher’s career earnings are as mind-blowing as his stats. The German earned $1 billion during his career (including endorsements), according to Forbes.

Schumacher was the driver who had earned more money throughout his career in terms of his salary ($464 million) until Hamilton surpassed the number thanks to his latest contract with Mercedes. Without including his personal endorsements with some of the biggest brands in the world, Hamilton’s career earnings only from his sporting contracts are at an all-time high $489 million, according to Forbes.

GOAT Debate

It is just natural for sports fans to compare athletes from different eras or even contemporary athletes and discuss who is the greatest. The only unbiased way to compare these two drivers and measure them is by saying they are two of the greatest the sport has ever seen and that fans are fortunate to get to enjoy what Schumacher did in his time and what Hamilton has achieved during his ongoing career.

Formula 1 is an even better place due to discussions about the ins and outs of the category. However, this time, let us just take a moment to appreciate the amazing achievements of two legendary champions Formula 1 fans have seen.

From Schumacher stepping in for Jordan in 1991 until Hamilton’s domination in the last few years with Mercedes, these two names are written in golden letters in the Formula 1 history books.

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