Martin Brundle compares what separated Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna

Former F1 driver turned pundit Martin Brundle recently spoke about the differences between Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. He was one of the few F1 drivers who raced with both the legendary drivers.

Both Senna and Schumacher are considered two of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. The former won three world championships before his tragic death in 1994, while the latter dominated the sport by winning seven titles.

Back in 1983, Brundle had the opportunity to compete with Ayrton Senna for the British F3 championship. The Brit came close to beating the eventual three-time world champion in F3 that year, finishing second. Later, the two raced against each other in F1.

Brundle also raced alongside Michael Schumacher when the German was still a rookie in F1. Both were teammates at Benetton in 1992, Schumacher's second year in the sport.

Speaking on Beyond the Grid Podcast, Martin Brundle talked about the thought process and racing styles of Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. He explained that Senna raced with his heart, while Schumacher raced with his head. The F1 pundit dove deep into their driving methods and philosophies, differentiating between the two. He also voiced appreciation for both drivers and their achievements in F1.

"So Senna and Schumacher. Senna was a man driven by his heart, he had a god-given talent for grip and speed and understanding how a car works. Ayrton had a talent that was something very special," Brundle said. (26:18)

"Michael was driven from his head, completely. He was slightly more methodical, I don't think he had the raw speed of Ayrton, or even Mika. But Michael was really clever inside the car and out of the car, and that is where he made the difference," he added.

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Former F1 team manager evaluates Ayrton Senna's and Michael Schumacher's driving styles

Former F1 team manager turned pundit Peter Windsor also talked about Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher's driving styles. In May 2023, he spoke on his YouTube channel live stream about how Senna used to blip the throttle to control the car, which helped him especially during F1's turbo era.

"The only unorthodox thing about Senna was his throttle blipping. He's got rotation at exactly the right moment but unlike any other great driver, he then wasn't just poised with various throttle positions, squeezing it in, getting the power absolutely perfectly linear applied to what the rear wheels could take, he would blip the throttle," Windsor said. (29:29)

Windsor stated how Schumacher's driving style on the other hand was heavily affected by various technologies that were introduced in F1 during his career.

"Michael was very different. He was the first of the really technologically aware drivers because it was the technological era in which he arrived and everything just exploded in front of him," he added.