Michael Schumacher News & Update: F1 Icons Debate Whether Lewis Hamilton Can Match Schumie’s 7 F1 World Championship Wins

Michael Schumacher is believed to still be recovering from his 2013 skiing accident. Meanwhile, other Formula One personalities have recently aired contrasting opinions on whether or not Lewis Hamilton can match Schumi’s career record.

Hamilton is regarded as one of the best active drivers in F1 right now. And several F1 personalities have started speculating on whether he is built to match Schumacher’s historical success.

Schumacher had just recently retired from driving in Formula One when he met the said accident that sent him to a months-long medically induced coma. But years before the tragic event, Schumacher was viewed as one of the best drivers to ever join F1, if not the best.

After his retirement as a driver in 2012, Michael Schumacher still holds the most number of F1 World Championship wins of all time. The first two he acquired in 1994 and 1995 while driving for Benetton.

Schumacher continued a five-year World Championship winning streak from 2000 to 2004, which sealed his seat in F1’s all-time record of wins. All these five victories were won while he was with Ferrari.

On the other hand, Hamilton is looking to secure his fifth World Championship title if he maintains his spot with three remaining Grand Prix races — in Mexico (Oct. 28), Brazil (Nov. 11), and United Arab Emirates (Nov. 25) for the 2018 F1 world event. Hamilton is currently leading with a 70-point advantage over Sebastian Vettel.

Former F1 driver and 1992 World Championship winner Nigel Mansell is one of those who believe Hamilton can match Michael Schumacher’s career record. Mansell estimates that Hamilton can accomplish it by 2020.

Schumacher’s former rival Jacques Villeneuve showed more faith in Hamilton. Villeneuve even told Reuters that the British driver is “above” Schumacher “by miles” and that he can eventually beat Schumi’s records.

Meanwhile, another F1 legend, Jackie Stewart, considered other factors when he commented on Hamilton’s chances of matching Schumacher’s success. Stewart said on BBC (via GPfans), “In [our] days we drove sports cars, GT cars, IndyCars, Can-Am cars -- all sorts of cars. So we were racing a lot more.”

Michael Schumacher’s era in F1 racing, Stewart implied, was much more conducive to achieving seven World Championship wins. “These guys only do 21 races a year, but there's still a lot of testing, there's still a lot of appearances you've got to do,” Stewart explained about Hamilton’s generation of F1 drivers. “You just, like in most sports, you burn out -- and he will burn out. He will choose to retire."