Scheckter: Schumacher is the Greatest

Former champion Jody Scheckter has branded five-time World Champion Michael Schumacher as the best driver of all time - and claimed he could have won eight titles in his career.

Schumacher claimed victory at the French Grand Prix on Sunday to join Argentine legend Juan Manuel Fangio in Formula One's record books with five World Championships to his name.

But Scheckter, the last Ferrari driver to win the title before Schumacher, insisted the German could have lifted even more crowns if luck had been on his side - and branded him the best there has been.

"I had reservations in that he did not have an Alain Prost or Ayrton Senna to run against him most of the time," 1979 champion Scheckter told Radio Five Live. "If you look at his record, not only is it five times, but he missed out by a little bit on a couple of other occasions, like when he broke his leg (in 1999). So it could have been eight times.

"When you look at it, yes, I would put him as the greatest of all time. It doesn't mean much comparing one era with another but if you look at his record, for what it's worth, he's the best of all time."

South African Scheckter feels that 33-year-old Schumacher will retire from the sport as soon as he begins to taste defeat again.

"He hasn't been beaten and when he is he will feel pain even more," Scheckter said. "Rubens Barrichello has pushed him and is coming closer all the time and has pushed him to another level.

"There is no question the whole team have got together. It is a wonderful team. But Formula One is like that, and sometimes two years later they can't win a race. Most champions give up very soon after they get beaten regularly."