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In the era of Max Verstappen, Michael Schumacher is a name that does not resonate as much with the contemporary F1 fan as it used to in the past.
However, one thing is certain when it comes to discussions about one of the greatest talents to ever race in a Formula 1 car. Schumacher's name has to be at the top of the all-time charts.
The German turned heads as soon as he came into the limelight. He was fast, ruthless, and was someone who was going to win no matter what. More importantly, he was the first driver since Juan Manuel Fangio whose accolades and records were pathbreaking.
With Michael Schumacher retiring and the new crop taking over, we have seen quite a few of his records getting bettered by other drivers. Going from an era where there were around 15 races to one with more than 20 meant that a lot of records accrued by the German have been overhauled.
In the last couple of seasons, Max Verstappen has also done something similar as he's picked off a few of Schumacher's records.
Having said that, there are still a few of the legend's records that Verstappen will never be able to break. In this feature, we will take a look at a few of those.
Michael Schumacher records that Max Verstappen will never break
#1 Fastest laps (77)
There are some records where you just look at the number and you're left in awe of the driver who achieved them.
Michael Schumacher's record for the most number of fastest laps is one that has astounded fans. The German has as many as 77 fastest laps to his credit. What makes this even more impressive is the fact that he achieved them in 308 races, which means he secured the fastest lap in every 4th race of his career.
Lest we forget, he did not have the fastest car under him for a chunk of his career.
Max Verstappen on the other hand finds himself at 27 fastest laps in his career in 175 races. It is a credible number no doubt, but it is highly unlikely that Verstappen will get close to Schumacher's record come the end of his career.
#2 Highest percentage of podiums in a season (100%)
The 2002 F1 season goes down in history as one where Michael Schumacher did the impossible.
In a 17-race season, the German did not finish off the podium even once during the entire year. The worst result in the entire season was a P3 finish in Malaysia, where his younger brother Ralf Schumacher won the race.
During that time, reliability was not as good as it is today, and having multiple retirements during a race was the norm. To add to this, there was always this possibility that a collision could happen or anything could go wrong in at least one of the races.
However, that did not happen and Michael Schumacher accrued what was a 100% podium percentage over a season. Max Verstappen is currently on a 100% podium percentage with 12 podiums in as many races this season.
Can he go 22 out of 22 in the second half of the season? Yes, he can, but even in that case, he would only equal an already impressive record.
#3 Most Hat-tricks (22)
In F1, a hat-trick is when a driver secures pole position, wins the race, and also has the fastest lap to his name in a race.
Michael Schumacher has 22 hat-tricks to his name. What makes this number very impressive is that Lewis Hamilton, who had a dominant car for a longer period in F1, slots behind Schumacher with 19 hat-tricks. Max Verstappen currently has eight hat-tricks.
Many would argue it's not inconceivable to see the Red Bull driver get those 14 more and beat Schumacher's record. We agree that it's not inconceivable, but what we have in front of us is a very rare occurrence.
A hat-trick is a sign of a complete weekend and those don't occur too often, even in the case of a driver like Max Verstappen.
