Michael Schumacher v Sebastian Vettel at 32: How they compare

Sebastian Vettel

Vettel at 32: How he compares to Schumacher at the same age

Seb's celebrating his birthday today!

Matthew Scott

Wednesday 3 July 2019 11:37 Updated: 13:30

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Sebastian Vettel turns 32 today, and everyone at GPFans would like to wish the Ferrari star many happy returns!

Although Vettel's career has perhaps not enjoyed the jumpstart that moving to Ferrari in 2015 was expected to bring, there is no doubt that the German remains one of F1's finest performers of the modern era.

Having dominated the sport with Red Bull between 2010-2013, breaking a host of records along the way, Vettel was tipped to potentially take down many of his great hero Michael Schumacher's all-time benchmarks.

Lewis Hamilton has, in fact, gotten closest to Schumi as Mercedes have emerged to take Red Bull's crown since 2014.

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However, it is worth bearing in mind that Vettel remains one of F1's greats statistically. Schumacher turned 32 in the off-season between 2000 and 2001, just as he was embarking on a period of his own dominance at Ferrari.

How do Germany's greatest F1 drivers compare at the same age? Let's take a look.

Michael Schumacher (1991-2000)

Seasons: 10
GPs: 144
Wins: 44 (30.6%)
Poles: 32 (22.2%)
Fastest laps: 41 (28.5%)
Podiums: 83 (57.6%)
Laps led: 2580
Teams: 3
Titles: 3

Sebastian Vettel (Career to date)

Seasons: 13
GPs: 228
Wins: 52 (22.8%)
Poles: 56 (24.6%)
Fastest laps: 37 (16.2%)
Podiums: 115 (50.4%)
Laps led: 3404
Teams: 4
Titles: 4

As you can see, Vettel's raw numbers surpass even the great Schumacher at the same stage of their lives – maybe the talk of Vettel's impending retirement can be shelved for a short while…

The averages, of course, swing things back in Schumacher's way, while his greater successes for separate constructors, which were just getting started for Ferrari at this point perhaps owe him greater recognition.