Renowned sports car driver Richard Bradley has recently opened up on Max Verstappen’s chances of being one of the greatest in the sport identical to Michael Schumacher. The Le Mans winner believes the Dutchman needs to side with an inferior team and do the unthinkable to be sided with the likes of Schumacher.
Admittedly, the seven-time world champion’s revival of Ferrari is still one of the fascinating events in Formula 1. The way the German driver helped in the Prancing Horse’s revival was commendable.
When Schumacher joined troubled Ferrari from Benetton, the Italian team was in a dismal state for several years and last won a drivers’ championship in 1979 and a constructors’ championship in 1983.
However, with Schumacher’s arrival, and his active role in bringing Rory Byrne and Ross Brawn into the team, the Red team slowly improved. Subsequently, the Maranello-based team won their constructors’ championship in 1999, and Schumacher won his first with Ferrari in 2000 and went on to win it till 2004.
With Verstappen having a mega contract until the end of the 2028 season, the replication of what Schumacher did with Ferrari is a long shot for the Dutchman. Moreover, by 2028, Verstappen will be 31 years old, and he is already questioning his future in F1 after his current contract ends.
Bradley believes Verstappen still needs to prove himself
The Le Mans winner wants the two-time world champion to do what Schumacher did with Ferrari. Notably, the 25-year-old is also a driver who loves challenges.
Admittedly, the former Toro Rosso man is recently linked to a rumored move to Ferrari. Talking about this and Verstappen’s challenging nature, Bradley told On Track GP, “Max is the sort of guy that goes ‘okay, well I’ll do what Schumacher did.”
Unbelievable, what a season, and what a fantastic race!
To achieve 14 wins in a season is down to all the hard work by everyone in the team, let’s keep this going @redbullracing @HondaRacingGLB pic.twitter.com/nG6uMggIPA
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) October 30, 2022
“I’ll take Ferrari from not being in the position to win to make them World Champions,” concluded the sports car driver. Notably, he also mentioned that the Dutchman is yet to show real signs of greatness as he is yet to dominate the circuits in an inferior car.
The unknown story of Schumacher and his Ferrari legacy
Much is known about how the seven-time world champion saved the Prancing Horse and brought them back to being world-class after he joined them in 1996. However, there’s another story to Schumacher’s jump to the Italian team.
As per reports, the German driver’s priority was to sign for Williams instead of Ferrari. But, the move was not materialized as late Sir Frank Williams was not ready to shell out more than $10 million on a driver.
After Williams, Schumacher’s next priority was McLaren, but he could not find a seat in the Woking-based team either. Ultimately, Ferrari’s financial independence lured the German star to Italy. So, initially, reviving a team was not at the top of Schumacher’s list as he was looking for places which would help him maintain his winning streak in F1.
