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By DPA 
9h ago
BERLIN – Lewis Hamilton was briefly speechless after equaling Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 career wins in Formula One.
That was after the great German’s son, Mick Schumacher, gifted Hamilton with a helmet from his father, which has not been seen in public since he suffered serious head injuries in a skiing accident seven years ago.
“Congratulations. This is from all of us. A great achievement,” said young Schumacher, who leads the F2 series and could make his F1 debut next year.
The red helmet was from the 2012 season, Schumacher’s last in the sport, and Hamilton replaced it at Mercedes starting in 2013.
“I don’t even know what to say,” said Hamilton at the Nuerburgring track, where the Schumacher-S is named after the great German.
The records are to be broken. Well done Lewis! @Lewis Hamilton # F1 #EifelGP 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/0eJy0Kwt1H
– Mick Schumacher (@SchumacherMick) October 11, 2020
“When you grow up watching someone, you generally idolize him in terms of the quality of the driver he is, but also what he is capable of continually doing race after race, year after year, week after week.
“There was a game called Grand Prix 2 and I remember playing as Michael and watching his dominance for so long that I don’t think anyone, especially me, could be close to Michael in terms of records.
“It’s an incredible honor. It will take me some time to get used to it. When I got to the pit lane, it was only when I realized that I had equaled the record. I couldn’t have done it without this incredible team pushing me.
“So a big thank you and a lot of respect for Michael.”
Schumacher’s former rival Damon Hill tweeted: “Great and very generous gift to Lewis Hamilton from Mick Schumacher and the Schumacher family. Great class.”
We are not crying, you are crying! 😭🙌#EifelGP pic.twitter.com/u3RV6KCNv9
– Mercedes-AMG F1 (@ MercedesAMGF1) October 11, 2020
Ola Kallenius, chairman of the board of Mercedes’ parent company Daimler, told Sky TV that he got goose bumps and spoke of “a very beautiful gesture.”
Schumacher’s records in the sport seemed untouchable, but Hamilton is in the process of rewriting them from his 2007 McLaren debut and top four starting in Canada in his rookie season in which he almost even won the title.
That came a year later, and now the flamboyant Brit has lifted the season’s trophy six times and with a 69-point lead after Sunday’s race he is on track to equal Schumacher’s record of seven world titles.
Hamilton already has the most pole positions with 96 and in the 262nd race of his career in fifteen days in Portugal, he can get ahead of Schumacher with 92 wins.
On Sunday, he never looked back after passing his teammate Valtteri Bottas after a small mistake by the Finn and slipping into the record books.
I am truly honored to be mentioned in the same way as a driver like Michael. What happened today is beyond my wildest dreams. I can’t express how grateful I am to all the fans and my amazing team for being with me on this journey. This is for us # 91 pic.twitter.com/ZXaq17qd06
– Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) October 11, 2020
“It’s a historic day, he had a perfect race and he deserves it,” said Kallenius.
DPA
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