Former F1 race winner claims Max Verstappen is BETTER than Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton

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Former F1 race winner claims Verstappen is BETTER than Schumacher and Hamilton

The Dutchman is currently cruising towards his third consecutive world championship

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 13 September 2023 06:57

Former Formula 1 driver Gerhard Berger has stated that he thinks both Max Verstappen and Ayrton Senna are the two best drivers of the last 50 years, not Michael Schumacher or Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen is currently a two-time world champion, and is cruising towards a third consecutive title having won a record 10 races in a row and 12 of the first 14 in 2023.

Senna was a three-time world champion who is largely perceived to be one of the all-time greats, winning 41 grands prix and claiming 65 pole positions before his untimely death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

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Schumacher and Hamilton are both seven-time world champions and are the two most successful drivers in the history of the sport, with Hamilton slightly ahead with 103 race wins and 104 pole positions.

And Berger, who himself managed to claim 10 F1 wins from his 14 seasons in the sport, has claimed that Verstappen and Senna are, in his opinion, the two best drivers he has seen.

“Verstappen and Senna are unique in the business. They are the two best I have seen in the last 50 years,” he told Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung.

“Schumacher and Hamilton are also exceptional drivers. Of course, you should always look at the statistics, they are both fantastic.

“But Senna died early, and Verstappen is still young.”

Verstappen to break more records?

Verstappen's Monza victory was his tenth in a row

When Verstappen crossed the line in Monza, he broke Alberto Ascari and former Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel's joint record of nine consecutive F1 race victories, signifying just how dominant he has been this year.

He's now up to 47 race victories already, at the age of just 25. By the time the season is done, it is feasible that he could be up to third in the all-time list of F1 race wins, with Vettel currently holding that position with 53.

How long he continues in the sport may have a bearing on how many records he can break.

Whether or not Red Bull can continue to provide him with a dominant car is also another factor, with Ferrari and Mercedes hoping to close the gap in 2024, and new regulation changes coming into play in 2026 which may completely shake up the grid.

If he does decide to continue to race well into his 30s however, Verstappen could well be chasing down Hamilton and Schumacher's number of race victories, and may continue to add to his number of world championships too.