Lewis Hamilton draws Michael Schumacher comparison with “human element” key to success

F1 steward Johnny Herbert sees similarities between Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher in how they can galvanise a team, stressing the importance of the “human element”.

Hamilton embarks on a new journey with Ferrari in F1 2025 after leaving Mercedes following 12 years with them.

This week, the seven-time world champion visited Maranello for the first time before taking to the track in Ferrari’s 2023 F1 challenger.

Hamilton hopes his switch to Ferrari will culminate in a record-breaking eighth F1 title triumph.

Schumacher won five of his seven F1 titles with Ferrari between 2000 and 2004 and was often credited for his ability to work with the team on a human level.

Speaking to Casinoutanspelpaus.io, Herbert feels that Hamilton can follow in Schumacher’s footsteps.

“The drivers’ comments are still very important,” Herbert said. “There have been times over the last five years where the simulator and their algorithm are the most important thing, and it’s the biggest direction they use for the development of the car.

“And then as we’ve seen with Mercedes, just for example, where they struggled like hell and then they started listening to the drivers a little bit more and that helped them as well. There’s always a human element that has to come into play. Someone like Hamilton has that wonderful ability to be able to explain what is going on underneath them in the car and what they’re expecting from the car.

“The man that I always saw do that, probably for the first time, is Michael Schumacher. He made sure that Rory Byrne, Ross Brawn and Jean Todt had an understanding, and they understood what Michael wanted from the car. That allowed them to go away and, for Rory, especially the designer, to give him the tools that he needed.”

Hamilton can “bring that type of power” to Ferrari

While 2024 was a challenging year for Hamilton personally, the 40-year-old has been backed to have the “hunger” to push for the title this year.

Ferrari’s F1 title drought stretches back to 2008 when they won the constructors’ championship.

Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel have failed to bring the title home to Maranello over the last couple of decades - something Hamilton hopes will change during his time with the team.

Herbert, who was teammates with Schumacher at Benetton, is confident

Hamilton will have a significant impact on Ferrari.

“That’s the human element that Michael Schumacher gave to a team,” he added.

“That’s still important today and I think Hamilton is one of those who can bring that type of power to the team.

“There’s no reason that Ferrari should not have improved on what they had last year. Yes, I know everybody else is going to improve to a degree, but there’s no reason why they can’t.”