Quote Originally Posted by Nitrodaze View Post
You assume the Mercedes car remained the same since the Schumacher years. The regulations for subsequent years after Schumacher left Mercedes meant Rosberg and Hamilton had to help redefine the car for subsequent regulations. So it would be grossly unfair to attribute all of Mercedes subsequent improvements to Schumacher alone. But that is not to say he was not instrumental in steering Mercedes in the right direction in their early days. The Mercedes was not a dominant car until the engine changed to the hybrid format. Most of Mercedes early strength was in their engine and Redbull still had the best chassis but underpowered Renault engines. Most of the progress on the Mercedes chassis happened after Schumacher and Ross Brawn had left. It took three seasons into the hybrid era before Mercedes got their cornering speed sorted. By 2018, they were just as fast as Redbull through the twisties.

I am a huge fan of Schumacher mind you. On who is the GOAT in F1, is an open debate. But one thing is certain, it is jointly shared between Schumacher and Hamilton at the moment. With Hamilton marginally ahead on records. How they accomplished their title wins is quite similar to a large extent. Hence, it is very much a matter of personal preference at the moment.
Mercedes start working on their 2014 car in 2011 so Schumacher was involved in that car, however, the structure put in place by Ross Brawn and Schumacher at the time largely remains to this day. I disagree that Hamilton and Schumacher are comparable in this aspect. Schumacher had to work a lot harder for his success than Hamilton did. Hamilton came into a team in 2013 where the structural foundations required to spring them to 7 World Championships were largely in place and a car for 2014 that was well on its way to completion. In 1996 Schumacher came into a Ferrari team that was a heap and with a donkey car managed to win 3 races. Hamilton has never impressed me the way Schumacher did. He managed to win a race in 2013 while his teammate won 3 and in 2011 was soundly beaten by Jenson. This didn't happen to Schumacher in his prime. While there is no doubt Hamilton walks with the Greats of the sport he is not in my top 5.