Revue de presse web : Will Max Verstappen Be Greater than Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton?

The sight of Max Verstappen stepping up onto the first-place spot of the podium has become an extremely familiar one in Formula 1. The Dutchman was dominant in the 2023 season, winning every single race except one. Not even the addition of the Las Vegas Grand Prix was enough to help other drivers make a challenge because, by the time of that race, Verstappen had the World Championship firmly in the bag and the celebratory beers chilling in the fridge.

Max Verstappen at the FIA Prize giving gala in 2021, to collect his first F1 World Title

Despite being just 26 years old, Verstappen and his achievements have already earned himself comparisons with the great Michael Schumacher because of their ability to get the best out of any car and of the similar levels of aggression the two aces share on the track; and with ambitious Brit Lewis Hamilton, who equalled Schumacher’s record of seven World Championship wins, because of his exceptional talent and also because of his aggression on the track. Below is a look at Verstappen’s odds of winning the 2024 championship and whether he could become even greater than both of these F1 heavyweights.

Can Verstappen win the 2024 season?

The Red Bull driver has entered 185 Grand Prix and won 54 of them. He’s been on the podium 98 times and has won three World Championships. Last season, he was so dominant that for the 2024 season sportsbooks have given him odds of 4/15 on the F1 betting money lines. British F1 driver Lando Norris, driving for McLaren, is the next big favorite, receiving odds of 33/4 on the moneylines. Mercedes man Hamilton is next, with 10/1.

Sportsbooks have just as much confidence in Verstappen’s technical team. They’ve set Red Bull Racing at 1/4 for the 2024 Constructor’s Championship, which they won last season. Sportsbooks have set McLaren at 29/4 and Mercedes at 29/4 for the championship.

Verstappen versus Schumacher

Michael Schumacher was born to race Formula 1 cars. The Cologne-born driver won the World Championship twice with Benetton and five successive seasons with Ferrari. After coming out of retirement to race for Mercedes but only making it onto the podium once in three years, “Schumi” finally decided to hang up his helmet for good in 2012.

Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher celebrating on the podium at the 2006 German F1 GP

After 185 race weekends, the prolific German had five of the eventual seven titles he’d win wrapped up. At this point in his career, he also had more victories, podium and pole position tallies than the Dutchman.

Given Verstappen’s age, he has every chance of becoming greater than the former Ferrari and Mercedes man. Experts, however, have likened him to the German in that he’s very hardworking and that he has the same mentality, that of only ever thinking about winning. He’s also fearless when it comes to working with the throttle and is aggressive on the track.

If Verstappen is to become greater than Schumacher, he must continue to work hard. Formula 1 cars in Schumacher’s heyday were physically harder to driver. The fact that Verstappen has achieved so much already means there is a danger he could become complacent. People had high hopes of Lewis Hamilton making it eight World Championships when he laid his hand on the seventh title, but somehow the Brit faded slightly, and these hopes died out.

Verstappen versus Hamilton

After 332 Grand Prix entered, 103 first-place finishes, 197 podiums and seven world titles (one with McLaren and six with Mercedes), no one can dispute Stevenage-born Lewis Hamilton’s talent. In terms of pole positions and podiums, the Brit fared better than the Dutchman after 185 race weekends. Whereas Hamilton already had three titles under his belt, Verstappen was just on his way to this third. The Red Bull man does, however, take the upper hand when it comes to actual race wins (54 v 50).

Lewis Hamilton on the podium during the 2023 United States F1 GP

Just like Hamilton, Verstappen oozes potential and some Formula 1 insiders believe he will become greater than Hamilton. When the Dutchman was on his way to winning his third World Championship, ex-Formula 1 driver Johnny Herbert, for instance, claimed that Verstappen will be better than Lewis Hamilton. He pointed to the natural evolution of the sport… that there is always someone who comes along who is better than the last. He talked of how the late Ayrton Senna was the best; but Schumacher was better; and then Hamilton was the best; so Verstappen would be better than Lewis.

To say Max Verstappen has a bright future ahead of him in Formula 1 would be the understatement of the century. He’s only 26 years old and is already earning comparisons to some of the greatest drivers to get behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car. He’ll serve Red Bull for a few more years yet, so the very best could still be yet to come from him and the team.

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