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Max Verstappen and Michael Schumacher. Often when the term dominant is used, these two names pop up with the German setting the standard for dominance in the sport and the Dutch driver seemingly following in his footsteps.
Schumacher ended his career as a seven-time world champion. Max Verstappen is treading the same path and even though he's seemingly not interested in records, he's breaking them nonetheless. In this feature, we'll take a look at the similarities between the two drivers.
Max Verstappen and Michael Schumacher: How are they similar?
#1 Rain Masters
When we talk about Michael Schumacher in his prime, one thing that stood out was his ability in the wet weather. There was arguably no driver better than him in those conditions in his era. Multiple race wins, multiple stunning drives and multiple jaw-dropping moments from the German in the rain were what made him stand apart from everyone else.
When we talk about Max Verstappen, his first true impact on the sport where everyone just had to ask 'Who the hell is this kid?' was at the 2016 F1 Brazilian GP. Showing great ability to find grip in atrocious conditions has been Verstappen's hallmark and that has been one of his brilliant skills on the entire grid.
#2 Immediate impact
How many drivers can one recall that made such an immediate impact on the sport that they got offers for a better upper midfield team after just one qualifying session? Well, that is what happened with Michael Schumacher.
After his debut race with Jordan where he surprised everyone with his performance in qualifying, he was poached by Benetton in the very next race and eventually won two titles with that team in 1994 and 1995.
Max Verstappen's immediate impact was making it to F1 as a teenager. Score points as early as he can and then secure multiple P4 finishes in a Torro Rosso. Such was the impression he left that he was promoted to Red Bull as a teenager and broke Sebastian Vettel's record for the youngest race winner in the sport.
#3 Undisputed best drivers on the grid for an extended time
One thing that stood out for Michael Schumacher as compared to some of the F1 legends was his ability to eclipse everyone. Since 1994 when the grid did not have Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost any more, Schumacher became the benchmark and stayed there until the new breed of drivers in Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso finally emerged.
For Max Verstappen, however, it has been interesting to see him emerge from the shadows of Lewis Hamilton in 2021 and take over. We're into the third year of his championship reign and the Dutchman continues to be a step ahead of every other driver on the grid.
#4 Unparalleled consistency
Michael Schumacher is the only driver in the history of the sport that has been able to finish every race of the season on a podium. The driver did that in 2002 in a season that he termed 'perfect' in his view.
The one thing that made Schumacher stand out over everyone else in the sport at the time was the relentless consistency with which he operated. Every race, every weekend, he was performing at a level that his rivals couldn't keep up with.
Max Verstappen is arguably the only driver since 2002 that has come close to having that perfect season and emulating Michael Schumacher. He's done it this season and if it wasn't for the stumbling block at Singapore, he might have even continued on his run.
#5 Controversial first title win
While there are many happy coincidences and similarities between Max Verstappen and Michael Schumacher, there is a notorious one as well when it comes to their first title win.
Michael Schumacher's first title was mired in controversy as it was his collision with Damon Hill in the last race of the season that decided the fate of the championship. Similarly, in the case of Max Verstappen as well, the now infamous Michael Masi incident involving the race restart on the last lap, tilted the title in favor of the Red Bull driver.
