Verstappen’s par force rides are increasingly reminiscent of Michael Schumacher
After 14 races, Max Verstappen is 98 points ahead of his closest rival, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc
What: Pool via REUTERS
Max Verstappen drove spectacularly from 14th on the grid to his third win in a row. On the track he easily overtakes the cars. In the World Cup standings, no one can get past him. Ability, serenity and dominance awaken memories of Formula 1 legend Schumacher.
Max Verstappen drives racing cars, but in Belgium the Dutchman became an engine driver. At least according to my own feelings. “The car really drove like it was on rails,” he enthused after his victory on the legendary Spa circuit. The omens on Sunday were anything but promising. With a grid penalty for swapping his engine, Verstappen had to start from the back. However, because other pilots changed the drive beyond the permitted contingent, he was flushed further and further forward and started from 14th place at the end.
But with his car on rails, he started a brilliant race to catch up. After just eight laps he was third, after twelve laps he was at the front for the first time and after 18 laps he was first. Just under 14 kilometers later, he was already five seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz jr. in the Ferrari. A show of force that continued until the end of the race. The Dutchman finished 17.8 seconds ahead of his teammate Sergio Pérez – and almost half a minute ahead of 27-year-old Spaniard Sainz.
This prompted some international commentators to proclaim the old world champion as the new one, above all the English “Sun”. “Let’s present the trophy now. There’s no point in dragging things out and waiting for the end of the season. Max Verstappen has the World Cup in his pocket,” the newspaper said.
Like Michael Schumacher once did
After the race, the Red Bull driver was accordingly self-confident. “Once we were in the lead, it was all about managing everything. I actually overtook a car every lap. This whole weekend was incredible,” said Verstappen. His team boss Christian Horner, a self-confessed Verstappen fan, agrees. “This track played into our hands, we have a very efficient car and a good set-up. And Max has been in phenomenal form since the first lap,” said the Briton.
A catch-up race from far behind to victory in Spa – that sounds familiar to German Formula 1 ears. In 1995, Michael Schumacher crowned himself the “rain god” on the route in the Ardennes. On dry tires he defied the repeated rain and the competition. Back then, he drove from 16th on the grid to victory.
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The dominance that Verstappen is showing this season is also reminiscent of the great Schumacher years. His former Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa told WELT: “Max is out of the ordinary as a driver. He is unbelievable. You can compare him to Michael Schumacher, Max can become the dominant driver of the future – like Schumacher, Senna or Hamilton were.”
After 14 races, Verstappen is 98 points ahead of 24-year-old Monegasque Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari, and has recently won three in a row. While Verstappen’s curve continues to climb steeply over the course of the season, the trend for Leclerc and Ferrari has been steadily downhill since the home race in Imola in April of all places. Already eight races before the end of the season, the arithmetic games begin, when the dominators could mathematically clear the world championship at the earliest.
In any case, Red Bull’s team boss Horner gets enthusiastic. “We probably have one of the most dominant performances that we’ve brought home as a team since probably 2010 or 2013. It’s pretty close to that phase,” he says. At that time, Red Bull won four world titles in a row with Sebastian Vettel. Verstappen is almost certain of his second in a row this year.
After the success in Belgium, the next Formula 1 stop is Verstappen’s home in the Netherlands: in the North Sea bathing resort of Zandvoort just outside Amsterdam. The Verstappen fans known as the “Orange Army” follow their tribune from Spa to Zandvoort and should give their star a banging orange reception again this year. And cheer him on for the fourth win in a row. Until the cars start rolling again in the Netherlands on Friday, Verstappen will be relaxing in his adopted home of Monaco.
He flew to the Principality on Sunday evening and wanted to think about Formula 1 as little as possible. “I’ll get on the plane on Thursday morning. From then on I will think about Zandvoort, drive there and try to do my best.” He has already practiced the route in the simulator and it feels good. Bad news for the competition, Ferrari and Mercedes cannot use a Max Verstappen on rails for another weekend.
At his home game, Verstappen beckons the next step towards the record wins of the season. Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel still share this record, the two German champions each won 13 races in one World Cup year. After the 14th of the 22 races of the season, Verstappen has already achieved nine victories. The English newspaper Daily Mail commented that what he had achieved in Spa was “a unilateral destruction”.
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