Ralf Schumacher believes it’s too soon to predict if Max Verstappen will surpass records set by Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.
Max Verstappen became only the 11th driver to claim a Consecutive Championship win. He joins the decorated list alongside legends like Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and more.
He became the first driver to win a Championship with Red Bull since Sebastian Vettel. And with his title win in Suzuka, he becomes the 2nd youngest double world Champion only behind Vettel.
Max is just 25 years of age. And the Dutchman has already matched Fernando Alonso’s number of titles. And he holds the same number of race wins (32) as the Spaniard.
Verstappen is just 9 wins away from beating Ayrton Senna’s number of race wins. And let’s not forget, Verstappen has a decade of racing left in him.
Many already believe the Dutchman will surpass multiple records set in F1’s wall of fame. This includes Hamilton and Schumacher’s record of 7 championship wins. But Ralf Schumacher believes otherwise.
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Max Verstappen is far from Lewis Hamilton’s records
Max Verstappen denied Lewis Hamilton the chance to claim his 8th Championship in 2021. The Dutchman claimed his first title after a controversial ending to the season.
Ralf Schumacher sees great potential in the Dutchman to write his own legacy in the sport. But the 6-GP winner believes it is too soon to predict if he will pass Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton’s records.
Ralf said, “Even though he’s only 25 years old, I think it’s a bit premature to think about tackling the records set by Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher. I’m assuming that Verstappen isn’t up to it just yet.”
Verstappen is one of the best in the current grid, says the German. But Ralf says there can be a lot of things that might decide if he wins more titles in the future.
“In terms of driving ability, of course, he can definitely do that. There’s no doubt about that. But we also know that in F1 it also depends on factors that the driver cannot always influence.”
Max Verstappen’s victory in 2022 was ‘unbelievable’
Max Verstappen saw himself 46 points behind Charles Leclerc at the start of the season. Since then he has gone on to win 12 races and left Ferrari and Leclerc far behind.
Verstappen dominated the season and wrapped the title race with 4 races to go. And Ralf Schumacher feels he deserved the journey this season.
Ralf said, “He’s had an incredible year, especially considering how tough the start of the season was. He was very unlucky then. Overall, the Red Bull driver is of course a worthy winner.”
Ralf says Verstappen’s dominance is also partly due to Red Bull producing a consequential car for the Dutchman. But Max has demanded his team to push further.
He adds, “In the past, there have been strong drivers who have dominated together with their teams. In relation to his teammate Sergio Perez, Verstappen also makes a difference in the team in an impressive way.”
Perez now stands 2nd in the Drivers standings and leads Leclerc by a single point. Perez has claimed 2 wins and 7 podiums. If he continues his form, this could mean Red Bull would claim their first 1-2 in the Driver’s championship since the team’s inception.
