F1: Vettel says Schumacher was better than Hamilton

Four-time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel thinks that F1 legend Michael Schumacher is better than Lewis Hamilton. His comments come after the Briton equalled the German's record of 91 Grand Prix victories after winning the Eifel Grand Prix at the Nurburgring last Sunday.

Vettel has always spoken highly of Schumacher, who acted as a mentor to him since he was a young racer. After Hamilton won the race last Sunday, Schumacher's son, Mick, presented the Mercedes driver with his father's helmet to mark the milestone. Meanwhile, Marca quoted Vettel saying, "I think I can't respect his efforts enough." Despite this, Vettel said that he never thought that Schumacher's record would ever be beaten.

The German admitted that it is clear that after equalling Schumacher's record, Hamilton will likely surpass that number. After all, he has dominated the season and is currently leading the championship 69 points clear of his teammate, Valtteri Bottas.

Even though Hamilton will smash through Schumacher's win record and will likely also equal his long-standing record of seven world championship titles, Vettel said that "Michael will always be my hero."

"And I think Michael had something about him that I haven't seen in another driver so far. I think he was better than anybody else I've ever seen so far," he repeated.

Meanwhile, even Hamilton's own teammate feels that he is better than the six-time world champion. "Of course I have to believe that, of course I believe that when I'm at my best I know I can be better than him," siad Bottas, in an interview with SkySports.

However, he does acknowledge that Hamilton has been the better driver between the two of then in the past years since they became teammates. "Obviously there are days that he's better, no doubt, and overall in the last few years being his team-mate, overall he has been better," admitted Bottas.

At the Nurburgring, Bottas almost rained on Hamilton's parade after taking pole position. However, he failed to stop Hamilton's run to victory after his car encountered problems and he had to retire.