F1 Throwback: When Michael Schumacher hoped Sebastian Vettel would break his records and not Lewis Hamilton

Michael Schumacher hoped that Sebastian Vettel would be the man to beat his legendary Formula 1 records and not Lewis Hamilton. The German driver held all records in the sport but has now been matched and surpassed by Hamilton.

Hamilton is currently searching for that record-breaking eighth title win but struggled to pose a title charge in 2022 following Mercedes' dismal pace.

Schumacher had hoped that his protege would be Sebastian Vettel and not the boy from Stevenage. Schumacher infamously commented in 2013 that he hoped Vettel would be the man to break all of his previous records, making him the greatest of all time.

However, the former Ferrari driver's words marked the end of Sebastian Vettel's championship-winning career. Hamilton, on the other hand, went on to dominate the sport in the turbo-hybrid era, surpassing Schumacher in all metrics but one - a total number of title wins.

Michael Schumacher said of Vettel and Hamilton:

“If somebody can break all these records, then I prefer him [Sebastian Vettel] to break it."

Red Bull hit a big slump in 2014, unable to understand the new engine philosophy the sport imbibed. Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes are currently the most successful driver-team pairing in history, with the Briton needing only one more title to cement himself as arguably the greatest of all time.

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Mastermind behind Michael Schumacher's success to retire from F1

The mastermind behind Michael Schumacher's seven F1 world titles, Ross Brawn, is set to retire from the sport after the end of the 2022 season. The former member of the Ferrari dream team, which included Jean Todt, Rory Byrne, and Michael Schumacher, is currently working as the F1 Managing Director.

In his latest column on the F1 website, Ross Brawn announced that he will be retiring from the sport. His retirement marks an end to a storied career that spanned 46 years in the sport. He wrote:

"I’ve loved everything I’ve done in the last few years. I’d moved away from wanting to be part of a team – I decided I’d done enough of that! And this was the only thing that could have possibly appealed. I’ve been very fortunate to have been given the opportunity by Liberty and it was a labour of love. Now is the right time for me to retire."

Schumacher and Ross Brawn's careers intertwined for most of the driver's time in Formula 1. The success achieved by the German could be attributed to having a great team around him, which was more or less led by Ross Brawn in all seven titles won by Michael Schumacher.

Brawn was the technical director at Benetton when Michael Schumacher picked up his first two titles. It was then the dream team that helped the German clinch five more titles with Ferrari in early 2000s. The Schumacher-Brawn-Todt team will go down in history as one of the sport's best combinations.