Presents:
"Hakkinen Is Better Than Schumacher"
Written By:The Ex-Formula1 Driver Johnny Herbert
"Herbert puts the case for Hakkinen"
Formula 1 veteran and new Arrows test driver Johnny Herbert says that Mika Hakkinen has not had the recognition he deserves compared to his world championship rival Michael Schumacher.
Herbert does not dispute triple world champion Schumacher's talent, but the Englishman, who was team mate to Hakkinen at Lotus in 1991-92 and drove alongside Schumacher at Benetton in 1995, believes the German's passage to the upper echelons of Grand Prix racing has been easier than that of the Finn.
"Schumacher has had a great run on the ladder up to Formula 1," Herbert told BBC television's Onside programme. "He was trained up in sportscars and then had his chance with Jordan. I don't think Mika has had the recognition he deserves."
Schumacher is widely thought to be the best driver currently in F1, but Herbert believes that Hakkinen's three-year struggle with uncompetitive cars at McLaren – the team did not win a race from the beginning of 1994 to the end of 1996 – and a life-threatening accident in 1995 mean the Finn deserves more credit than he gets.
"Mika drove at the back with Lotus, got a good opportunity with McLaren and then things finally spiralled," continued Herbert. "But he had a really bad accident in Adelaide [in 1995] and managed to come back from that, but Schumacher hasn't had that."
