Schumacher vs Hakkinen | F1 Driving Style Rivalry

After Hakkinen’s retirement from F1 in 2002, Schumacher said that "Hakkinen is the best opponent I have ever faced. We may have fought hard on the racetrack, but when the race was over, I was amazed by his disciplined personal side. We had great respect for each other and let each other live peacefully.".

But first, the Schumacher-Hakkinen rivalry started in 1991 with both drivers joining the sport. Michael Schumacher was in the Benetton and Hakkinen was in the Lotus. Schumacher was aggressive at the time, similarly to Alesi whereas Hakkinen was smoother and more fluid. The cars in that era could hold up with aggression, as the tyres needed to be worked hard to get them into the optimum temps. While they both preferred an oversteery car setup, Hakkinen was more refined and smooth.

Let me explain.

Michael Schumacher preferred a pointy car setup with a strong front end. This allowed him to rotate the car easily without having to induce much rotation. While doing this, he was aggressive with the steering micro-correcting very often. He also took a more V-shaped line, braking hard and late into the corner, setting the car up for a straighter exit.

Mika on the other hand, also preferred an oversteery setup with a loose back end. However, he was smoother with the steering and pedals than Schumacher. While others like Schumacher and Alesi would be aggressive with an oversteery setup, Hakkinen would be more precise and refined. To complement the oversteery setup, he also took a V-shaped line into corners but carried a higher minimum speed. 

Here is a breakdown of how they took corners.

On entry, Schumacher would brake hard and late into the corners. Hakkinen would brake early and turn in late to follow a V-shaped line. When turning in, Hakkinen was smooth and gradual with the steering to load up the front tyres. Whereas Schumacher would hack at the steering, micro-correcting to find the grip limit. 

Mid-corner, Hakkinen would have a more stable platform, as a result of his smooth inputs but wasn’t as quick as Schumacher. Schumacher was closer to the limit of grip and carried lots of mid-corner speed. He danced the car around, micro-correcting to pivot the car on the front axle while sliding the rears. Hakkinen did this on a more subtle level, micro-correcting the pedals more than the steering. 

On exit, both drivers would have a straight exit as a result of their V-shaped racing line. Schumacher would get onto the power earlier, almost drifting the car with the throttle. Hakkinen would ease onto the throttle smoothly to avoid scrubbing the rear tyres. Overall, Schumacher had a more aggressive approach to cornering, whereas Hakkinen was smoother. But who was actually faster?

Schumacher would have a phenomenal one-lap pace in qualifying. His aggression made the tyres reach the optimum temperature faster, giving him more grip. He would be much closer to the grip limit, even going over the limit, which was faster over a qualifying lap. However, this scrubbed the tyres a lot and would wear them out over a race distance. He also had less consistent pace, since the grip levels would drop off rapidly from his aggression on the tyres.

On the other hand, Hakkinen would have the better pace over a race distance. His smooth inputs eased the tyres into the optimum temperature and pressure. He also avoided tyre-scrubbing more than Schumacher did. By being slightly under the grip limit, he would be able to make his tyres last longer. This gave him a more consistent race pace, as the grip levels would maintain higher than his rivals. In a race, Hakkinen could push for longer, as a result of the more consistent grip levels. 

Even though Hakkinen was smoother than Schumacher, it is not to say that Schumacher was nervous with the car. Schumacher was still confident with the car, making him more prone to pushing it and micro-correcting often. They just had different ways of staying on the grip limit. 

Overall, Hakkinen had more consistent lap times, whereas Schumacher could get the most out of a one-lap sprint. While both preferred an oversteery setup with a strong front end, the pair differed quite drastically in cornering style. Hakkinen would be smooth with the steering and modulate the pedals. Whereas Schumacher would be aggressive with the steering as well as modulating the pedals. All in all, both drivers had an incredible feeling for the grip limit allowing them to use their style successfully.