F1 icon Gerhard Berger has weighed in on the ongoing debate of who is the superior driver – Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton.
Currently, 26-year-old Verstappen is leading the 2024 Formula 1 Championship table with a total of 313 points, seven victories and ten podium finishes to his name so far this season. The Belgian-Dutch racer still has six more Grand Prix and three more sprints left before the year ends, providing ample opportunity to further extend his lead.
With only 174 points remaining up for grabs – assuming he secures first place in all the upcoming events – it seems highly improbable that Hamilton will pose a significant challenge to Verstappen for this year’s championship title with Mercedes, particularly as he currently languishes in sixth place in the standings with a mere 166 points, despite victories at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps.
While to a novice fan, it might seem on paper that Verstappen is outperforming Hamilton in terms of driving skills, the annals of F1 history paint a very different picture. The 39-year-old Briton shares the record for the most Formula One World Drivers’ Championship titles (seven, tied with Michael Schumacher) and holds the record for the most wins, podium finishes and pole positions.
Verstappen’s winning streak in the Formula 1 Championship shows no sign of slowing down, as he aims for his fourth consecutive title with Red Bull at the close of the 2024 campaign. McLaren’s Lando Norris, meanwhile, is still hopeful despite a 59-point lag behind.
The ongoing debate about whether Verstappen or Hamilton is the superior driver received a striking comment from ex-Ferrari icon Berger, who told Auto Motor und Sport: “He thinks through where you can overtake and where you can’t. Neither (Ayrton) Senna, Schumacher nor Hamilton had this tool,” reports the Express.
He added: “It’s just noticeable that Max is always in the right place. At the start, in the first corner, in a duel. I can’t think of anything that could be done better than him. That’s why Max Verstappen is probably the best we’ve ever seen in Formula 1.”
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Nevertheless, even with accolades like securing last year’s F1 Championship with a record-breaking 575 points and claiming victory in 19 out of 22 Grand Prix, Verstappen has quite a journey before he surpasses the records of legends such as Hamilton with his 105 wins, and Schumacher’s 91 victories.
With 108 podium finishes, he still trails behind Hamilton (201) and his 32 fastest laps are nowhere near his rivals’ 67 and 77 (Schumacher) respectively. Although he’s already surpassed Schumacher in terms of total career points – accumulating a whopping 2,899.5 so far – he has a significant distance to cover if he wants to outshine Hamilton’s staggering 4,805.5, particularly as the British driver is still on the track and doesn’t seem to be hanging up his helmet anytime soon.
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