One of Michael Schumacher’s greatest rivals, Mika Hakkinen, has likened current Scuderia Ferrari German driver Sebastian Vettel to the great man that led the Maranello team to unprecedented glory at the turn of this century and believes that this predicting this year’s title winner is impossible to predict.
Hakkinen, who was Formula 1 world champion in 1998 and 1999, recalls Schumacher his nemesis and sees many similarities with his former rival: “I first think of Sebastian’s driving style as unique, but the similarities to Michael are there. He always braked at the same point, always drove the same line, accelerated very sensitively, everything controlled. It’s a very good, clear, clean and aggressive driving style. Even over the curbs, he always has the car under control,” Hakkinen told Speedweek.
Regarding Sebastian Vettel’s rival Lewis Hamilton, the former Finnish driver added: “Lewis always tries to drive a bit more extreme. Very controlled, but he pushes the car more to the limit and risks much more. But it is not careless, he makes conscious decisions. If he does not go off track, a super lap comes from his effort. You can take that risk, but not always, otherwise you’ll spin sooner or later.”
From what he has seen so far this season Hakkinen is reminded of his days at McLaren: “We put a lot of emphasis on keeping the rear stable on the track. A nervous tail makes it hard for the driver, especially if he is driving the car to the limit. Ferrari is in a good position for the title, unless unpredictable things happen…Formula 1 has not been as exciting for a long time now. Rosberg against Hamilton was anything but boring, but the number of fans was reduced by the duel within one team. Now Mercedes against Ferrari, plus the young talents like [Max] Verstappen – now it’s exciting.” – he added.
The championship this year has swung like a pendulum, with Vettel versus Hamilton and Ferrari versus Mercedes swinging one way and the other during the first 12 rounds of the season. Hamilton lies 24 points ahead of Vettel with nine rounds remaining.
Championship prediction?
“It’s impossible to predict that. Hamilton and Vettel are so very different. It’s interesting to see how Vettel’s nerves sometimes take over, on the other hand, Hamilton takes more risks.” Mika Hakkinen concluded, as reported earlier today by Speedweek.
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