Brazilian racing legend Emerson Fittipaldi believes Max Verstappen has the potential to win more than seven Formula 1 titles if his current form is anything to go by.
The Dutch ace has stepped up a gear to win three Grand Prix races on the trot – Monaco, Spain and Canada – making it six wins in eight races, only his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez has won this year, twice in fact but trails Verstappen by 69 points in the standings.
Speaking to MyBettingSites.co.uk , Fittipaldi stated: “I think it’s too early to say if he can break Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton’s record but he has the potential. Any sport, Olympics, World Cup football, tennis, when someone establishes a record, you think it is impossible to break but history has shown us otherwise.”
Records are there to be broken. While Juan Manuel Fangio’s five lasted until Schumacher powered to five successive F1 titles with Ferrari to make it seven including the two Benetton triumphs. Hamilton followed that and targets an eighth one in his final years in the top flight, for now, the pair are tied at the top.
In terms of Grand Prix victories, records show that Hamilton has 103 to his name, Schumacher 91, Vettel 53, Prost 51 and Senna, tied with Verstappen on 41 wins. As for F1 titles apart from, Scumi and Sir Lewis tied with seven at the top. The other three or more times F1 champions are Juan Manuel Fangio on five; Prost and Vettel on four; triple winners are Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet, Niki Lauda Jackie Stewart and Jack Brabham.
Verstappen is sure to be a triple F1 Champion by November
Come to the end of the 2023 F1 season, Verstappen is sure to be part of that illustrious list with a third F1 title and he is only 25! And that makes him not only the phenomenon he now is, but indeed a prodigy of our sport with a decade or more to smash records.
Consider that at the age of 25 these are what the other Legends’ scorecards looked like:
- Hamilton in 2010: 14-time F1 winner, and a one-time F1 World Champion in 2008;
- Vettel in 2012: 26-time winner, and three-time F1 title winner;
- Schumacher in 1994: 10-time F1 winner, and one title that year;
- Senna in 1985: Two-time F1 winner, and no titles until 1988;
- Prost in 1980: Prost made his F1 debut the year he turned 25.
Although ‘only’ a double F1 World Champ, Fernando Alonso continues to ply his trade at the highest level, rejuvenated with a competitive car and is the oldest driver on the F1 grid currently. At 25 this was the great Spaniard’s record:
- Alonso in 2006: 15-time F1 winner, and a double F1 World Champion
On the prospect of eight F1 title wins for Verstappen, Fittipaldi said: “He has the potential to break that record for sure. His age, his physical fitness, his training and his mental strength. He has the potential to win more than seven World Championships.”
Fittipaldi: Adrian Newey is a genius designer
Apart from Verstappen, Alonso and Hamilton on the podium in Montreal, also celebrating the occasion of Red Bull’s 100th Grand Prix victory, was F1 design legend Adrian Newey, who reportedly was on 200 victories for a car designed by him.
Therein lies the Ace in the pack for RBR, says Fittipaldi: “Adrian Newey is a genius designer who can keep up the performance of the cars for so many years. Historical, the cars that he’s built and designed. He’s very good at aerodynamic design and I think that’s one of the key factors behind their strong performance.
“Red Bull is a hundred percent correct to renew his contract. He likes the team, the team likes him. The cars, in my opinion, this year are on a different level than any other in the last four-five years. They are outstanding now. I’m sure Red Bull wants more and more years of Newey’s incredible talent.
“It’s difficult to say but he’s in the top three-four of F1 history for sure. He’s made so many World Championship cars. His talent, his dedication and his passion. I was walking the grid in Miami and I was in the last row and guess who was walking and watching over there? Adrian Newey.
“I was surprised, he was there in the last row of the grid looking at every detail of every car. That’s typical Adrian Newey,” reckoned Fittipaldi, himself a double F1 World Champion at a time when drivers perished regularly.
Notably, Emmo won the 1972 F1 World Drivers’ Championship at the age of 25, at the time, he was the youngest-ever F1 world champion and held the record for 33 years.