What makes Max Verstappen different from Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton is that the Dutch driver has been groomed over all these years. That is the view of former F1 champion Damon Hill. From a very young age, Verstappen was groomed by his father on what to do and what not to and that has helped him become this good, as per the Briton.
Max Verstappen has taken the F1 world by storm. Ever since he's got a competitive car, the Red Bull driver has not given up the opportunity to make the most of it. He's scored consistent wins and is now a three-time champion. In terms of dominance, Verstappen has taken it a step further than even his predecessor in Lewis Hamilton.
Damon Hill talked about this during the Qatar GP weekend with Sky Sports as he touched on how Max Verstappen is different from the Ferrari and Mercedes legends. While Hamilton had started at an early age and Schumacher practically lived on the track, none of them were groomed like Verstappen was by his father Jos.
Elaborating, Hill said:
"He's a new breed of driver, or a relatively new breed, whereby they have started very young and, in Max's case, his father was an F1 driver, so he had Jos coaching him and giving him all the right direction.
"Michael Schumacher lived at a karting track but his father wasn't a Formula 1 driver, though he started very young, as did Lewis Hamilton."
He added:
"But Max started from a very early age being groomed in the right way, coached in the right way, to understand what is required. He has got the most extraordinary talent, he has got a good head on his shoulders and he is mature."
Max Verstappen continues to get better and better
Hill praised Max Verstappen for continuing to get better and better with every race. The Red Bull driver came into the sport as a fast and volatile driver but he's improved in all aspects since then.
On this, Hill said:
"He came into F1 when he was 17, before he could even drive a road car, and was volatile and quick. Now he has been able to combine that exuberance and speed with experience and in the interview he gave [to Sky] on the weekend, it was very clear he was admitting he understands what the job is better. He is just getting better and better all the time."
Verstappen has now won his third world title without much of a challenge from his teammate Sergio Perez.