Herbert puts the case for Hakkinen

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."

After a final year in F1 with Jaguar Racing, Herbert retired from racing at the end of 2000 and has taken a role as the third driver with Tom Walkinshaw's Arrows team for 2001, to help develop the A22 chassis and its Peugeot-based AMT engine.

Herbert spent 12 seasons in F1 and entered the sport at the age of 24 with Benetton, the same team which British young gun Jenson Button has joined for this year. Button made his GP debut last year and has embarked on his second season at the age of only 21, impressing many onlookers, including Herbert.

"I think Button has been able to cope with an awful lot," said Herbert, "and looking back, I don't think I would have been able to cope with it all at that age."