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When it comes to sporting debates over who is the GOAT (greatest of all time, or increasingly just the emoji for ‘goat’), there’s often the added complications of having to compare two people who competed in different eras.

The LeBron James or Michael Jordan debate is a prime example, although the Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo duel is a notable exception.

Tennis fans might say we’re seeing the two greatest male competitors of all time, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, accelerating down the home stretch of their careers, which is fine as long as they don’t try and bring Novak Djokovic into the conversation.

Formula One has a GOAT battle of its own to deal with, and this past weekend Lewis Hamilton did his case no harm as he surpassed Michael Schumacher’s 91 race wins at the Portimao Circuit in Portugal.

Hamilton now sits alone on 92, but does that make him the greatest driver of all time?

CNN has decided to tackle the contentious issue, so let’s see which points stand out:

Some say you can best judge how good a driver is based on their teammates’ performances. And both Hamilton and Schumacher have stunning records against their teammates.

Schumacher finished with a better result than his teammate in 68 percent of races he started. Hamilton has a 61 percent record against teammates.

Many of their stats are remarkably similar, and place them well above the rest of history’s most revered drivers, although there is one anomaly.

In this respect, it’s the Brit who fares far better:

The pair’s podiums and wins tally are very similar, but Hamilton is head and shoulders in front on pole positions achieved.

For many, this is a point to Hamilton. But, if anything, the deficit between number of poles and race wins is a testament to Schumacher’s determination to win. The man just never gave up.

This is a point echoed by those familiar with Schumacher’s health, although the details of his current condition are closely guarded by his family.

The quality of the competition each man faced should also be factored in. During his career, Schumacher had famous battles with the likes of Brit Damon Hill during his early career, and then Finnish driver Mika Hakkinen in the latter stages.

Hamilton’s biggest foes have been Sebastian Vettel in his early days (the German won the World Championship from 2010 to 2013), but his duel with Nico Rosberg never really played out in full.

Rosberg won the 2016 title, but then promptly retired, and Hamilton has enjoyed unrivalled dominance since.

I’ll present the CNN conclusion without comment:

A victory in the next round at Imola will secure Hamilton a seventh world title, the one big record of Schumacher’s he has yet to equal or eclipse…

Hamilton is 35 now, and is showing no signs of slowing down…At his current rate, Hamilton will reach 100 wins next season, and maybe even reach eight world titles next year too.

Schumacher’s greatness is cemented in history. But Hamilton will march on to even greater acclaim for years to come.

Not only is the argument of who is the greatest ever complicated by comparing drivers competing at different times, but there’s also the small matter of the different cars in which these two competed, and the different rules in place during their careers.

BBC Sport also sought to compare Hamilton and Schumacher, with this section touching on a small part of that:

…there are other numbers in Schumacher’s favour – he has more wins from second, and more than twice as many wins from third.

At first glance, this might suggest that Schumacher was a stronger racer. But anyone who has studied Hamilton’s race-craft would dispute that.

In fact, these numbers are probably more a reflection of the different eras in which they raced. Schumacher’s career was almost entirely during F1’s refuelling era, and his Benetton and then Ferrari teams were unsurpassed in their ability to use strategy to win races.

During Schumacher’s era, cars at the back of the grid had a greater chance to overtake.

The Formula One of today doesn’t allow refuelling, which gives whoever claims pole position in qualifying a better chance at winning the race from the outset.

So, who is the greatest of them all?

I’m not sure fans of the sport will ever agree, but Hamilton still has gas left in the tank. If he keeps on winning, he may just pull away from the rest.

[sources:cnn&bbcsport]