After Recording 49 Wins in 8 Years, Max Verstappen Is Unsure Whether He Could Follow Michael Schumacher’s Footsteps

Max Verstappen has been on a roll in recent times. In just eight years, since his first win in F1, the Dutch lion romped to his 49th career Grand Prix win at the 2023 Qatar GP. And he did so just a day after he sealed his 3rd consecutive F1 world championship at the Sprint Race. Naturally, the 3x champion is now possibly addicted to winning. That’s exactly why, the 26-year-old Red Bull talisman is doubtful if he’d ever want to step into the shoes of 7x champion, Michael Schumacher as per GPBlog.com.

After his meteoric debut at the 1991 Belgian GP with Jordan, Schumacher went on to rewrite the history books with Benetton and Ferrari. After two successive championships with current-day Alpine, in 1994 and 1995, the German made the switch to the iconic prancing horse of Ferrari for 1996. With them, he won 5 consecutive titles from 2000 to 2004, surpassing Juan Manuel Fangio’s 5x mark to become the most decorated F1 driver ever. But after he hung up his racing helmet in 2006, the Red Baron returned. Not for glory, however, but to inspire a mid-field Mercedes team to become the champions they are today.

#OnThisDay in 2012: Michael Schumacher announced his retirement from Formula 1.

Keep fighting, Michael ❤️#F1 #QatarGP #MichealSchumacher #KeepFightingMichael pic.twitter.com/bF4bWfU1Sr

— Mercedes F1 Team News 🇲🇦 (@MercedesF1_News) October 4, 2023

From 2010 to 2012, Schumacher spent his time geeing the team up for that eventual championship push that came in 2014. While he only has one podium from his time with the Silver Arrows to show for it, the team couldn’t have built the turbo-hybrid dynasty they did without Schumacher at the helm during their early days of struggle.

Max Verstappen isn’t interested in emulating Michael Schumacher

The Dutch lion is surely tipped to at least challenge Schumacher for the 7x titles he’s amassed. But that’s part and parcel of Verstappen’s hunger for victory and glory. On the flip side, when asked if he would like to emulate Schumacher’s stint, like at Mercedes, the 3x champion wasn’t all that convinced.

He replied, “It depends how far back on the grid. There will be a time where you’re not winning, but probably when you’re driving in P15, maybe not, but if you’re still fighting up front, trying to win races and you have this prospect of coming back to the top, for sure.”

Fernando Alonso says it’s difficult for him to compare Max Verstappen and Michael Schumacher, given Max’s dominance over the current #F1 field.

Do you think Max can be compared to the greats? #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/SHeguEohWW

— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) October 5, 2023

Given how Schumacher’s time at Mercedes panned out to be, it seems unlikely that Verstappen would ever be goaded into following that path. But it also cannot be ignored that after Schumacher left with a solid foundation, the Brackley-based team won 8 consecutive championships.

Mercedes’ past could be F1’s future

Schumacher finally bid the sport goodbye at the end of the 2012 F1 season. Two years on from that particular Brazilian Grand Prix, the Silver Arrows went on a possessed spree, winning virtually everything the sport had to offer.

While Schumacher played a huge role in their glories, the turn of a new era in F1 was the defining point of Mercedes’ fortunes. With the turbo-hybrid era of the sport kick-starting in 2014, Mercedes had a blank canvas in terms of their engine. And their ingenious split turbine-compressor design was not only revolutionary but gave them a massive leap in terms of performance against its rivals. The rest as they say was history.

In 2026, with the revamped engine regulations, it’s a blank canvas once again. Naturally, it’s up to anyone to have that eureka moment. Can Mercedes reignite the magic touch and open another door to a glorious dynasty come 2026? Or will the sport newest era be dominated by someone else?