Nico Rosberg Cherry Picks His GOAT Between Lewis Hamilton & Michael Schumacher by Citing Two Major Differences

Every sport has that undisputed GOAT. Fortunately for Formula 1, we have two! Well, at least in terms of the stats. The sport has the distinct privilege of having 14 world championships being shared between the pair of Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, seven-a-side each. That being said, even though they aren’t competing, the debate about who edges the other one out still keeps on raging.

Fans have their own opinions, the media has its own. Drivers, too have their own choice depending on affinity. However, 2016 F1 champion, Nico Rosberg is probably the only one who can boast relevant experience to comment on this, given that he’s driven and beaten both of them in equal machinery.

Nico Rosberg tears into 7x champion while settling the GOAT debate

As is the norm, the only man who has beaten both Schumacher and Hamilton may have the final say in this age-old debate. For Rosberg, his countryman Schumacher stands out, even above Hamilton. And it isn’t just his bias, he seems to have done some pretty solid due diligence, too.

In an interview with Sky Sports, Rosberg began by setting up the stage. He said, “Michael was just so complete as a driver. He covered all areas. Lewis is just an extremely natural talent. In terms of talent, he must probably be the best of all time. And he really builds on that, that instinct is phenomenal with him.” [translated via Google Translate]

But what then sets Schumacher apart from the 38-year-old? “A big difference is diligence. Lewis hates tests. He doesn’t like tests. And Michael, he would drive tests every day, even though he’s seven times world champion. Because he also knows that you can still learn a little bit there,” said Rosberg.

Apart from that, “he motivates and gets the whole team behind him, knows everyone’s name, invites them to his home for bike tours and such, even though he’s a seven-time world champion and has 800 million in his account or something,” as compared to Hamilton according to the German.

Read More: Despite 103 Wins & 7 WDCs, Lewis Hamilton’s Supernatural Talent Belittled by Nemesis Max Verstappen With Brutal Reality Check

Hamilton and Rosberg haven’t really seen eye-to-eye, but the Brit will surely be agreeing with Rosberg here.

Lewis Hamilton bows down to the Red Baron

In his glory days with Ferrari, Schumacher was dubbed the Red Baron. And people had 91 good reasons for it, too. But as it is with any record, it must be broken. Hamilton has, to date, amassed 103 F1 wins. But the day he equaled Schumacher with 91, is when he really opened up about the German driver.

Post-race, he said, “You know when you grow up watching someone, you generally idolize them, really just in terms of the quality of the driver they are, but what they are able to continuously do year on year and race on race and week on week with their team. I remember playing Michael in a game called Grand Prix 2 I think it was.”

“Just seeing his dominance for so long, I don’t think anyone and especially me didn’t imagine that I’d be anywhere near Michael in terms of records.”

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Is Michael Schumacher really the GOAT of F1?