“Max reached a benchmark rarely seen in Formula 1”- Karun Chandhok compares Max Verstappen to Michael Schumacher and Marc Marquez after hard-earned title victory

Karun Chandhok thinks that Max Verstappen in his short career of seven years so far in Formula 1 has brought him among the best.

Max Verstappen marked himself in the illustrious list of the world champions. Since 2016, there has been no new F1 champion, and it was Lewis Hamilton’s kingdom for all this while.

Now, with the Dutchman reaching the pinnacle of the sport, former F1 driver Karun Chandhok thinks he is comparable to legendary Michael Schumacher and MotoGP great Marc Marquez.

In a column for Sky Sports, Chandhok wrote: “There’s no question in my mind Max was a deserving World Champion. In 18 of the 19 races he finished, Verstappen was either first or second.”

“A remarkable record of consistently superb performances, especially when you consider this was a 24-year-old coping with the pressure of his first World Championship battle.”

“Zandvoort was a particular highlight as it was a home race which was basically put together because of him. I’ve never been to a race where 99 per cent of the crowd were cheering for one driver.”

“The papers were wall-to-wall with stories about Max and even the Royal family were queuing up to shake his hand. Yet on the two occasions when I happened to be walking to the paddock alongside him, we were casually chatting as if it was the Chinese GP.

“His phenomenal ability to soak up pressure at such a young age reminds me of MotoGP ace Marc Marquez.”

Max Verstappen and his controversial racing

Verstappen for long has been criticized for his “reckless” driving, which led to several controversial moments. Even 2021 wasn’t away from such criticisms. Chandhok compares his driving style to Schumacher and urges that it’s upon FIA to redefine the rules of engagement.

17-year-old Max Verstappen casually drifting in an F1 car 😯 pic.twitter.com/5rozuINa4H

— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) January 11, 2022

“Yes, his wheel-to-wheel racing was hard, on the edge of fairness, and at Monza and Jeddah he even went over the line,” Chandhok stated.

“But he has an uncompromising style of racing like Michael Schumacher used to and the FIA now need to re-define the rules of engagement. Clearly, as Brazil and Abu Dhabi showed, there’s a lack of clarity around it.”

“Overall, in terms of consistent brilliance, both Lewis and Max reached a benchmark rarely seen in Formula 1 history. I look forward to seeing the rivalry renewed in 2022.”

Also read: Max Verstappen talks about lows in his title winning campaign

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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