Nico Rosberg is once again causing a stir suggesting Michael Schumacher is a more complete driver than Lewis Hamilton.
Last year, the Briton tied the great German as a seven-time Formula 1 champion, while also surpassing his record for the most Grand Prix wins, currently on 95.
However, Rosberg, who was, of course, the last driver to beat Hamilton to the title back in 2016, still believes there is a key difference the two.
“Schumacher was certainly the most complete racing driver of all,” he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung in Germany.
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“The way he experienced this sport, the motivation to improve himself and the team in every conceivable area, that’s pretty huge.
“I don’t think that has happened a second time in Formula 1.”
By contrast, Rosberg paints Lewis as simply one of the best drivers to have stepped behind the wheel.
“Hamilton is a natural talent, a driver from another planet,” said the former Mercedes driver. “He sits in a car and is immediately fast, which is quite impressive.”
However, Schumacher’s son Mick, who joins the F1 grid in 2021 with Haas, believes both share many of the same attributes.
“When we look at a champion dominating an entire era there is a risk of overlooking something important, the enormous amount of work it requires, how relevant are the resources, energy and talent applied by that champion who then wins,” he said via Corriere Della Sera Sport.
“This is as true for Hamilton as it is for my father, there is nothing random about a great success.
“It’s an iceberg, and we often only see the tip of that iceberg emerging from the water.”