F1: Michael Schumacher Once Predicted Lewis Hamilton Could Break His Record

Michael Schumacher once predicted that Lewis Hamilton is one of the racers who could beat his records.

Hamilton has just won his sixth title in a dramatic 2019 season with 11 race wins and 17 podium finishes. Now that he is just one win behind the all-time leader, many believe that the Englishman is on the verge of breaking Schumacher’s all-time feats. However, this might not be new to the Ferrari legend at all as “Schumi” himself previously once said that Hamilton could surpass his accomplishments in their sport.

In an exclusive interview with BBC back in 2008, Schumacher named Hamilton as one of F1 stars who have what it takes to beat him.

"I would say, absolutely, yes [Hamilton could win seven titles],” Schumacher predicted.

The legendary F1 racer pointed out that “records are meant to be broken” and even he didn’t expect that he could break Juan Manuel Fangio’s records.

"Nobody thought, even me, that I could beat [Juan Manuel] Fangio. Then I did. Records are there to be beaten. I'm quite relaxed that one day it will happen - whether it's Lewis, whether it's Massa, or whoever,” Schumacher pointed out. "It might be someone of the current or of the future that could or will do it. But I've got no problem about it."

Schumacher also said he rated Hamilton "really highly" but was reluctant to say whether he thought he was the best active driver in F1.

"Is he the best? Is he not the best? Is he better than Felipe Massa or not? You look at the circumstances; it is not always very straightforward or clear to understand from the outside," Schumacher noted.

As for Hamilton, he still don’t see himself as F1’s greatest. In an interview with Sky Sports a few days ago, the Mercedes star was asked if he now considered himself the 'GOAT', a modest Hamilton responded and hailed Schumacher as still the best to ever hold the wheel.

"Firstly, I could never ever personally classify myself as the best,” Hamilton clarified.

"So I just try to let my results and the results from the things that I do outside of my sport, hopefully, also contribute to that, so people can hopefully create a decent opinion. But Michael's still quite far ahead in race wins so you have to say he is still the GOAT," Hamilton pointed out.