“Nobody Can Beat Him”: Max Verstappen’s Supremacy Compared to Michael Schumacher’s Magical Season in Elite Compliment

There’s at least one Formula 1 season in every decade that stands out and defines the kind of racing and talent in a particular generation through those 10 years. While the 90s had McLaren and Williams dominating the field, the 1995 season particularly stood out because of Michael Schumacher‘s nine race wins and Benetton’s first and only championship. In the 2000s, it was Schumacher’s 2004 season with Ferrari. In the 2010s, one of the stand-outs was Sebastian Vettel’s 2013 season with Red Bull. And if the 2020s (so far) were to have one, it would undeniably be Max Verstappen in his RB19 this season.

The 2023 season is bound to go down as one of the most dominant seasons in F1 history. And the fact that it’s not over yet says a lot about how superior Red Bull and Max Verstappen have been so far. To put it into perspective, the Milton-Keynes outfit has won all 12 races of the season so far, and Verstappen has handed 10 of those to them. And they weren’t by some meager three or five-second margin. Most have been by a gap larger than 20 or 30 seconds. And the pairing is showing no signs of slowing down. Considering all this, when F1 journalist Michael Schmidt was discussing Verstappen’s dominance, he could only compare it to one other season. As quoted by f1maximaal.nl, he said, “Michael Schumacher ‘s 2004 season.” [Translated by Google]

Michael Schumacher’s 2004 season with Ferrari saw him win 13 races, beating his old record of 11 wins in a season. No one came close to his level that season, and unsurprisingly, he breezed through to his seventh (and final) championship that year. The 2023 season is shaping up to be very similar, if not even more dominant. Verstappen broke the record of 13 wins with his 15 last year, and considering how much better his car is this season—and that he’s already won 10 races—it’s almost inevitable he’ll break that record again and claim his third consecutive championship.

Read More: “Uncle” Michael Schumacher’s Influential History With F1 Lion Max Verstappen

Schmidt added, “At one point, you had the feeling after three or four races: nobody can beat him. With Verstappen, you can hardly imagine that something goes wrong.” While Schmidt believes no one can beat him, Lewis Hamilton feels he knows how he can step up to the challenge.

Lewis Hamilton reveals how he can unsettle Max Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton has been nowhere near Verstappen these past two seasons ever since their face-off in 2021. Mercedes just hasn’t been able to replicate Red Bull’s pace, because of which it’s been stuck in a game of catch-up for two seasons, with Red Bull as the eventual target. You would think Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez would be right up there with him, but he’s closer to Hamilton in the championship than he is to Verstappen, with a 125-point difference.

So after the Belgian GP, when Hamilton was discussing how comfortable Verstappen is at the front, he said, “He’s having a smoke and a pancake,” making an Austin Powers reference. But when asked about his Mercedes’ performance compared to Verstappen’s Red Bull, he said, “Do I want to be as quick as them? Of course. Would I like to have a car as quick as the Red Bull? Of course. If I was in Sergio’s car, Max wouldn’t have the peace of mind he has now.” 

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Is there a chance Max Verstappen could win every remaining race this season, seeing how consistent he’s been and how reliable his RB19 has been?