Nico Rosberg: Hamilton is greatest 'talent wise' Michael Schumacher the most 'complete'

Nico Rosberg has labelled Lewis Hamilton the Greatest of All Time in terms of pure talent, but pointed at one key difference between the British racer and former Ferrari great Michael Schumacher. Both the drivers are tied on seven Formula 1 Drivers' Championships, with the former gunning for his eighth in 2021.

Schumacher won two titles with Benetton before winning five consecutive titles with Ferrari between 2000 and 2004. Similarly, Hamilton won one title with McLaren before claiming six with his current team - Mercedes. The Briton is currently trailing Max Verstappen by six points in the 2021 championship with six races remaining.

Hamilton has broken a number of records set by Schumacher, mainly the race wins record. The Mercedes driver took his 100th victory at the Russian Grand Prix this year, with Schumacher ending his career with 91 wins. Rosberg has no doubts with regards to his former teammate's talent, but feels Hamilton does not possess the diligence that Schumacher showed during his career with Ferrari.

"Talent-wise, he probably has to be the best of all time. And he really builds on that, that instinct is phenomenal with him," Rosberg said, as quoted on GP Blog.

"A big difference is diligence. Lewis hates test drives. He doesn't like test drives. And Michael, he would drive tests every day, even though he is a seven-time world champion. But because he also knows that you can always learn a little bit there."

Rosberg called Schumacher a "complete driver" and also spoke about the German's humility to ensure the entire team was involved. The German, who beat Hamilton to the 2016 F1 title, remains a fan of his compatriot but is aware that Hamilton could leave him behind by winning the title in 2021.

"Michael was just so complete as a driver. He covered all areas," Rosberg added. "He motivates the whole team and gets them behind him, knows all the names, invites them to his house for bike rides and so on, even though he is a seven-time world champion and has 800 million in his bank account or something"