"Lewis Hamilton is a bloody good driver but Michael Schumacher was another level" - When former Ferrari driver compared the two F1 legends

Former F1 driver Eddie Irvine spoke on his interview show a few years ago about the difference between the two seven-time World Drivers' Champions, Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher. The 1999 championship runner-up discussed how his former Ferrari teammate was league above some of the best in the sport.

Irvine, who was teammates with Schumacher from 1996 to 1999, spoke on his interview series A Drink with Eddie Irvine in 2017 about his feelings regarding a comparison between Schumacher and Hamilton, he said:

“Lewis is a bloody good driver but Michael was another level, and everybody knew Michael was another level” [0:28].

The four-time race winner also compared himself to the German driver, highlighting their time together as Ferrari drivers. He said:

“I knew I wasn't as good as Michael. I watched Michael and I could see Michael could do things in the car that I couldn't do. Whenever we were teammates, I could see he was doing things that I couldn't do. When I watched him from outside the car I could see he could do stuff that nobody else could do.” [1:23]

During his time in Formula 1, Michael Schumacher won seven championship titles, 91 races, achieved 155 podiums, and scored 1566 points from his 306 starts. Lewis Hamilton, who has been in F1 since 2007, has also won seven championships, but has achieved victory in races 105 times, along with scoring 202 podium finishes, and 4862.5 points over his 355 starts in the sport.

Lewis Hamilton will return in the 2025 season, now racing for Irvine and Schumacher's former team, Ferrari, alongside Charles Leclerc. The British driver will be leaving Mercedes, who he has been with since 2013.

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Ralf Schumacher compares Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari entry to his brother's

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, brother of Michael Schumacher, recently drew comparisons between Lewish Hamilton and his sibling, making the point that Hamilton is getting into the Italian team much later in life than the German driver did.

Ralf, who raced in F1 from 1997 to 2007, compared his brother to the British driver not just in terms of their age, but also in terms of how they work with their engineers. The younger Schumacher brother said (via PlanetF1):

“The biggest difference is that Michael, among many other qualities, was able to develop a car perfectly for his driving style together with the engineers. Lewis can’t do that. He’s never been able to do that, if you listen carefully to what the Mercedes technicians say.

“What’s more, Michael came to Ferrari as the current world champion and was much younger. That’s not the case with Lewis.”

The German driver joined Ferrari when he was 27 years old, whereas Lewis Hamilton will be joining the Prancing Horses for his race debut with them next year in Melbourne, Australia at the age of 40.

Ferrari will be launching the car Hamilton and Leclerc will use on February 19, followed by each driver getting a day-and-a-half of testing, before they go racing in March 2025.