Shekter competed in F1 races from 1972 to 1980. It was a time when many athletes who have already become legends took part in the championship – Niki Lauda, Jackie Stewart, Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, Gilles Villeneuve and others.
“Verstappen is better than anyone who competed in my era,” Schecter admitted to the Italian newspaper “Gazzetta della Sport”.
Verstappen has become the champion for three years in a row, dominating his rivals in recent seasons, which was especially noticeable this year. Counting the last two seasons, the Dutch driver has won 77% of the races. In his career so far, he has achieved 54 victories, which ranks Verstappen in third place on the list of drivers with the most victories. Only Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton are ahead.
“The difference that people sometimes mention is that in those days pilots were ‘real men’ who risked their lives,” Schecter continues. “Cars often broke down – maybe not a Ferrari, but a Tyrrell, for example. Only later did I realize that I was lucky that time. My greatest achievement was that I stayed alive and was never taken to the hospital by helicopter.”
Shekter spent the first few races as a member of “McLaren”, then he started three seasons in the “Tyrrell” team, where he scored his first victories and twice took third place overall. In 1977, with the “Wolf” team, they already managed to get the second place in the overall standings. In 1979, the athlete joined “Ferrari”, beat teammate Gilles Villeneuve and became the champion. After one more unsuccessful season, he ended his career.
“I started out a bit reckless, like everyone does when they’re young and trying to show their talent and courage,” explains the South African pilot. “Max did the same thing and I didn’t like the way he drove at the beginning of his career because he didn’t show respect to other drivers. Then he realized that you won’t win a race and even more so a championship if you cause incidents and collisions with other cars .”
Resources used:
www.f1.lv
2023-12-25 10:22:00
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