11 World Championships Predicted for Max Verstappen as He Creates ‘100 Times’ Better Dutch Legacy

All Max Verstappen critics are being silenced with each passing race weekend. With six wins in nine races, the Dutchman already has one hand on his fourth consecutive championship. However, analysts don’t expect his dominance to continue when the 2026 regulations kick in, let alone him reaching the record-breaking 8 championships milestone that Lewis Hamilton is hunting. Despite this being the consensus, a prediction for an unprecedented 11 World championships to Verstappen’s name, surpassing Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher, has been made.

The 26-year-old Red Bull driver is one of the best that the Netherlands has produced. But decades before he was born, Gijs van Lennep was the nation’s hero, a two-time Le Mans winner (1971 and 1976). His precision-marked racing in an era of numerous fatal accidents made him stand out. In 1999, he was crowned the best Dutch race car driver of the century. Even a driver of such caliber feels that Verstappen has outshined him to be the best Dutch F1 driver.

“He’s just as down-to-earth as I am,” van Lenep told Formule1.nl, adding, “And also raised fairly neatly, with norms and values. At least, neither of us are stealing all day. But seriously, as a driver, I don’t see any similarities. Max is a hundred times as good as I am.” “

“He might be world champion eight more times,” van Lennep admitted, taking his tally to eleven. The 82-year-old legend’s prediction is bold but quite well-reasoned. Verstappen’s performance, in a seemingly deteriorating RB20 this year, still lives up to the racing expected from a reigning world champion. And the Canadian GP was a prime example of how the Dutchman’s error-free race-craft got him an unexpected victory.

Martin Brundle swoons over Max Verstappen’s poetry in motion at the Canadian GP

The odds were against Red Bull in Montreal. The track’s ask for aggressive curb-riding, which is the RB20’s big weakness, gave an upgraded Mercedes and the ever-consistent McLaren the edge. But Max Verstappen held his nerve, kept the pressure on George Russell and Lando Norris, endured the changing weather, and effortlessly secured his 60th F1 win.

“Despite all the challenges with the weather, other drivers, and safety cars, Verstappen drove flawlessly to yet his 60th victory in Formula 1,” F1 presenter Martin Brundle told Sky Sports. “Behind him, it was a long story of ‘shoulda, woulda and coulda’, to quote the famous Beverley Knight. It was the reigning world champion who just did it again.” Verstappen is a generational talent, no doubt. If Red Bull can give him even a good enough car, he’ll produce results consistently.

With 194 points in nine races, he is 56 points clear of Charles Leclerc in P2 in the drivers’ standings. Will his current form sustain to help him surpass Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton’s records in the future? What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.