Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc says he’s reluctant to compare Lewis Hamilton with Michael Schumacher as the former edges closer to equaling the world title record held by latter.
Victory at next week’s Turkish Grand Prix would hand Hamilton his seventh world title, his fourth in a row and put him alongside Schumacher.
With history close to being made, unsurprisingly the comparison between Hamilton and Schumacher have come into sharp focus.
At 23-years-old, Leclerc will have grown up idolising Schumacher and now competes against Hamilton.
And the man from Monte-Carlo says the duo are tough to compare.
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“I don’t like to compare different eras. You didn’t drive against the same people, the cars are very different,” Leclerc told German publication SportBild.
“They are two fantastic sportsmen who were incredibly successful in F1 and deserve a lot of respect.
“When I see Lewis on the track, it’s not the same image like I have of Michael Schumacher, although just like Michael, he will be a legend when he leaves F1 one day.
“When I was little, I always watched Michael Schumacher on television. That’s why I perceive him somewhat differently. I respect Lewis very much. But he is also one of my competitors.”
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“We went through the plans in the morning, what happens if one of us gets under pressure and there’s a possibility that Red Bull could undercut and that was me.
“So obviously I had to react and it would have been the same case if I was in Lewis’ position, that the only thing I wanted to do is to go long and seek the opportunities.
“It really paid off for Lewis, and if we were the other way round it would have been the same for me.”
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