Former Ferrari and Williams team manager Peter Windsor has disagreed with Mercedes technical director James Allison, who according to a fan stated that Michael Schumacher was quicker over one lap than Lewis Hamilton.
Allison has had the privilege to work with both of the legends during his career, with Schumacher and Hamilton, of course, both being seven-time World Champions.
The Mercedes technical director worked for Ferrari in the early 2000s, when Schumacher was effectively unbeatable.
The legendary German claimed five consecutive titles from 2000-2004, meaning Allison saw Schumacher perform at his peak.
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Since having joined Mercedes early in 2017, Allison has also seen Hamilton perform at his very best, with the 38-year-old having gone on to break the record for most wins and most podiums in F1.
Hamilton has achieved 103 of each; however, Allison supposedly believes Schumacher is better over a single lap.
A fan told Windsor in a YouTube live chat that Allison had stated that Schumacher was stronger when it came to one lap pace, but that the two drivers were the best he’d ever worked with.
Windsor clearly disagreed with the comment and stated that there is “absolutely no way” Schumacher was faster than Hamilton when both drivers were at their “peak”, with him not understanding why Allison would think otherwise.
“I think engineers are entitled to their opinion, but I’ve had my fair share of race engineers, performance engineers, giving their opinion on drivers,” said Windsor during a recent stream on his YouTube channel.
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“And most of their opinions are based on conversations with the drivers in debriefs, or in the car, lap times, quality of handshake and what it’s like having dinner, very few are based on actually watching the driver out on the circuit and looking at what he does.
“And I’m not saying that James Allison doesn’t know exactly what he’s talking about, I’m sure he’s basing all that on all his own information, but to me there is absolutely no way in the world Michael Schumacher, at his peak, was quicker over one lap than Lewis Hamilton at his peak over one lap, no way.
“Sorry, I just totally don’t get that, I disagree with it.”