After announcing his retirement in Monza, Ferrari champion Michael Schumacher was asked who he thought was his greatest rival during his sixteen years in the sport and the German driver was quick to name one man in particular, former double world champion for McLaren, Mika Hakkinen, who took the drivers championship in 1998 and 1999, the latter coming after some fierce competition between the two men.

Apart from his two crowns, Hakkinen won two a total of 20 races, his last victory coming in the 2001 United States Grand Prix in his final season before he retired from the pinnacle of Motorsports and joined the DTM Championship. But as he wasn’t racing last weekend, the flying Finn went to went to Brazil to watch his former rivals final race….

“What he has achieved is something remarkable,” Hakkinen said, “and I don’t think there will a driver in the future who can beat the achievements for a long time or ever.”

Meanwhile, California’s Scott Speed, who has just completed his rookie F1 season with Scuderia Toro Rosso, said Michael Schumacher set standards to which all drivers aspire.

“He has had an exceptional career, and he set the benchmark for everyone,” Speed said. “How hard he pushes is amazing. You always hear people talking about all the drivers and their opinions, but you don’t really how until you get to meet the people and see it for yourself. And I can say that for me, Michael is one of the best.”