Max Verstappen has been the most dominant F1 driver of the current generation. Albeit, it did not happen overnight for the current triple-time champion. He debuted in F1 at age 17 for Torro Rosso (Currently called Alpha Tauri). The Dutchman had to wait till he got to the age of 23, when he finally had his first shot to win the title. But once he did win his first Driver’s World Championship back in 2021, he never looked back ever since.
Moreover, he has won 39 races in the last two and a half years. Not many champion drivers of all time could be as dominant as the Dutchman in their prime. Moreover, Max Verstappen joined the elite list of the three-time F1 champions, including Ayrton Senna and Jackie Stewart. He has broken multiple records in all these years. Recently, Damon Hill pointed out the difference between Verstappen and the two seven-time champions in F1.
Damon Hill Calls Max Verstappen A New Breed Of F1 Drivers
According to the 1996 F1 champion, Max Verstappen had his father, Jos, molding him to be a racer since his childhood. But Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher did not have such parents. Damon Hill told Sky Sports that Max Verstappen comes from a racing background. Jos Verstappen was an F1 racer, and Max’s mom was a go-kart racer as well. Hill added Jos coached Max and gave him the right direction. On the other hand, Hill said Schumacher lived in the go-kart track as well.
However, Michael’s father was not a famous F1 driver. Both Schumacher and Hamilton started their go-karting career at a young age. But Max knew what he was required to do to reach where he is today because of his grooming. On top of that, Damon Hill suggested that Max has got the most extraordinary talent. Adding to that, the 1996 champion called Max Verstappen “A New Breed of Racers.” Hence, Hill suggests it won’t be wise to dismiss Verstappen as a potential driver to win eight titles or more.
Can Verstappen Win More Than Seven Titles?
Last year, Max Verstappen broke Sebastian Vettel & Michael Schumacher’s record of 13 victories in a single season. Currently, Max has the record for most wins in a season with 15 Grand Prix victories. But he can break his own record this season. Moreover, Max Verstappen enjoyed the longest winning streak of all time, winning ten in a row in 2023. He broke another Vettel’s record of leading the races in terms of the most consecutive laps. Most importantly, Max is only 26 years old.
If he sticks around in F1 for as long as Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso did, he might not leave any stone unturned. In other words, Max Verstappen can break all of Hamilton’s and Michael Schumacher’s records there are to break. But Max has often mentioned that he has no plans or intentions to stick around for that long. It seems like the Dutchman has other interests, like virtual sim racing being one of his favorites.
