Formula 1: Max Verstappen hits 100 races: How does he compare to Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher?

Max Verstappen

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How does Max Verstappen compare to Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso and Schumacher after 100 grands prix?

A century on the board for Max!

Matthew Scott

Sunday 10 November 2019 15:00

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Max Verstappen reached a milestone at the United States Grand Prix as he took part in his 100th Formula 1 race at the Circuit of the Americas.

Verstappen's early years in F1 broke several records as he became the youngest grand prix racer and winner, although sustained success has proved trickier to muster as Red Bull have struggled to keep pace with Mercedes and Ferrari in the modern era.

The Dutchman is regularly labelled as a multiple world champion in waiting, but how does he compare to the other multi-time title-winners in the modern era?

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Through 100 races in their respective careers, here's how Max compares to Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher.

Verstappen (Australia 2015 - USA 2019)

Titles: 0
Wins: 7
Poles: 1
Fastest laps: 7
Podiums: 29
Races led: 18

Hamilton (Australia 2007 - Germany 2012)

Titles: 1
Wins: 18
Poles: 21
Fastest laps: 11
Podiums: 46
Races led: 42

Vettel (USA 2007 - USA 2012)

Titles: 2 (3rd title secured in 101st race)
Wins: 26
Poles: 36
Fastest laps: 15
Podiums: 46
Races led: 47

Alonso (Australia 2001 - Italy 2007)

Titles: 2
Wins: 19
Poles: 17
Fastest laps: 11
Podiums: 46
Races led: 47

Schumacher (Belgium 1991 - Japan 1997)

Titles: 2
Wins: 27
Poles: 17
Fastest laps: 28
Podiums: 54
Races led: 46

Almost as striking as how far back Verstappen sits from the bunch is actually how closely matched Hamilton, Vettel, Schumacher and Alonso were through a century of outings in their careers.

While Schumacher and Hamilton put themselves into position to put together dominant runs afterwards, Vettel and Alonso made moves that failed to keep up their runs of success, particularly the Spaniard, whose end-of-career numbers do little justice to the talent behind them.

With a new era of F1 on the horizon from 2021 and beyond, Verstappen has plenty of time on his side; he is still younger than Schumacher and Hamilton were in their debut races having now gone through the 100-race barrier.

There is no doubting the talent and if Red Bull, or any other team, can provide Verstappen with the right machinery he could well start to catch up to those in the upper echelons of F1's record books.