Schumacher Counters Marko’s Claims of Max Verstappen Being Faster than Lewis Hamilton over a Full Season

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have been on top-notch form over this season. Unsurprisingly, this eventually led to a spark in debates over who is the best of the two drivers.

Helmut Marko recently claimed that Max Verstappen is faster than the six-time world champion. Consequently, former F1 driver, Ralf Schumacher, expressed his insights regarding the same and countered the Austrian’s statement.

“Because Helmut Marko believes that Max Verstappen would be faster than Lewis in the same car for one season.
A bold statement! I doubt the doctor is right,” Ralf said.

The German sounded convinced that the young guns of Max and Charles Leclerc are evidently quicker than Lewis in Qualifying sessions. However, he felt that the Briton is still the quickest when it comes to the race.

“In qualifying, the young wild ones Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc are actually faster than Lewis,” Ralf told SkySportF1.

“I am also convinced of that. In the race, though, Lewis is still the better. There he stands above everyone! And points are only awarded on Sunday.”

Neither Max nor Leclerc currently possess a car that can challenge the Silver Arrows of Lewis Hamilton. However, it would be very interesting to see how either of the drivers prosper when teamed up with a driver who has his name on the record books.

Can Max Verstappen sneak past Lewis Hamilton in Turkey this weekend?

Formula 1 will be moving onto one of the most interesting courses in Formula 1 history this weekend, the Istanbul circuit. The circuit features some juicy straights, like the massive one between turn 10 and 12, increasing the opportunities for the drivers to carry out overtakes using DRS.

Will such a high-speed circuit play into Red Bull’s hands, or to be specific, Max Verstappen’s hands? Well, considering how Red Bull struggled through straights in Imola, one might assume the upcoming weekend might not be any different.

However, analyze the current scenario. Following last weekend’s DNF, Max has pretty much nothing to lose now with Bottas almost out of reach for the Dutch.

The 23-year-old has no major threat from behind on the table either. So, Red Bull will be looking to set his car up more aggressively over the weekend in Turkey.

The only thing Red Bull have lacked over this season is the straight-line speed. If they could figure out a setup to be quicker on the straights this weekend, Max will definitely be unstoppable.

Hence, with Lewis’s focus likely to be on securing his 7th championship title this weekend, will Max possess the pace to disrupt the Briton’s record-equaling aim and make him wait for another race weekend?

(The quotes are translated from German using Google Translate)