Schumacher's records shake: can Vettel stop Hamilton?

2020 will be a special Formula 1 season for Sebastian Vettel. It's also about his idol's best marks. And he needs success, he needs victories, he finally needs this title with Ferrari. To do this, he must end the era of Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes.

Berlin (dpa) - Michael Schumacher's long-held records of seven World Cup triumphs and 91 race victories are at greatest risk.

But not compatriot and friend Sebastian Vettel, like his idol in Ferrari, can attack the marvelous top marks of the motorsport premier class this year. No, Lewis Hamilton could become the most decorated driver of Formula 1 at the end of the season and lift the era of the Silver Arrows into previously unattainable spheres.

In the season planned as a record year, which could become a shrinking world championship due to the coronavirus, Vettel slipped into the role of the preventer. "I do not hope that the record will fall," said the Heppenheim-born - also because the 32-year-old Hesse has to deliver urgently after five years at Scuderia himself. It's also about a new contract. In any case, Vettel - now a triple family man - does not want to stop. "At the moment, the order for the World Cup title is clear," he said. His problem: this could be his last chance in the Ferrari.

Too many glitches, too many mistakes, too few wins, no titles in his Ferrari days so far. And in Charles Leclerc, Vettel has a team-mate who made it clear last season that he himself wants to end Ferrari's time without title since Kimi Raikkonen's 2007 triumph.

"We all know how much talent Charles has," emphasizes Ferrari boss Louis Camilleri. But the Monegasse also surprised her. The driver alliance Vettel / Leclerc quickly became a stable duel that, above all, did not bring one thing: the necessary boost for Ferrari to beat industry leader Mercedes.

Thanks to Hamilton (5) and Nico Rosberg (1), the Silver Arrows have always won the Driver’s World Championship since 2014 and have also become world champions in design. Formula 1 has been firmly in the hands of Mercedes since the introduction of turbo hybrid engines. "Usually, a time like this ends because an important part of the team breaks away," says team boss Toto Wolff and adds: "It doesn't look like that at the moment."

In 2021, Formula 1 will again be faced with a reform, but much more important: So far, Hamilton and Vettel have stood for 2021 without a contract. Shortly before Christmas, Ferrari extended the working paper with the 22-year-old Leclerc until the end of 2024, which ends with Vettel after this season. The same applies to Hamilton at Mercedes.

And then? Maybe a cockpit swap of the two currently ten champions? Neither of them get younger. Vettel celebrates his 33rd birthday in July, Hamilton turned 35 in January. He is also likely to combine his further sporting fate with Wolff, who gives him the freedom at Mercedes to develop optimally between eccentricity and Weltschmerz profundity on the racetrack.

In numbers, this means: Hamilton has already won 63 wins in the Silver Arrow, there are already 84 in total. The Briton won five of his six World Championship titles in a Mercedes.

Seven more wins and Hamilton sets Schumacher's record. Another title and he has managed the seven World Cup wonders. "The closer you get, the bigger the steps are. But of course I am incredibly honored that I am located in this category and I have made it by then," said Hamilton once.

The new young stars Leclerc and Max Verstappen are now striving to climb as steeply as Hamilton and Vettel once did. The 22-year-old Dutchman not only gets a real home game in Zandvoort at the beginning of May, the 2019 World Cup third party wants to attack the title this year. "Max Attacke until 2023," was the title of his Red Bull racing team for an early contract extension. With the increasingly powerful and reliable Honda engine, the team of billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz hopes for successful times like once with Vettel from 2010 to and including 2013, when Red Bull won all titles.

A lot has happened since then, and the number of German pilots has shrunk continuously. This year Vettel will be alone, the 32-year-old Nico Hülkenberg had no new contract with Renault and was replaced by the 23-year-old Esteban Ocon - also one of the new generation.

At the start of the season in Australia, the teams will get a little more certainty that they have the right design for the car and the right drivers in the cockpits. "We don't have a winning car for Melbourne. Others are currently faster than we are," said Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto. The impression that the Scuderia left during the test drives was not very rousing. Once again, the measure of all things was Hamilton in the Mercedes - always keeping an eye on the Schumacher record.

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