Gerhard Berger has finally settled the debate as to who is the better racer out of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, as the 2024 F1 Championship heats up.
F1 legend Gerhard Berger has shared his opinion of who is a better driver – Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen, 26, currently sits atop of the 2024 Formula 1 Championship table on 313 points with seven wins and ten podium places for the campaign so far.
The Belgian-Dutch driver has six more Grand Prix races and three more sprints before the season ends. If he wins all of those races, it is unlikely that Hamilton will be able to catch up in the championship standings, especially since Hamilton is currently in sixth place with only 166 points. Verstappen is in the lead with 174 points available.
While from a new fan’s perspective on paper, it may appear that Verstappen is clear of Hamilton in terms of driving capabilities, the history books tell a completely different tale. The 39-year-old holds a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers’ Championship titles (tied with Michael Schumacher) and holds the record for the most wins, podium places and pole positions.
Verstappen, meanwhile, has won the Formula 1 Championship three years in a row now – and looks to clinch his fourth with Red Bull when the 2024 campaign comes to a close, unless McLaren’s Lando Norris can make a late comeback and bridge the 59-point gap between first and second. And while it may be too tight to call who is the better driver overall between Verstappen and Hamilton just yet, former Ferrari man Berger has made a bold claim that Verstappen is the greatest of all-time.
In an interview with Auto Motor sport, the 65-year-old admitted that the driver in question considers the best places to pass other cars on the track.
He mentioned that even legendary drivers like Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, and Lewis Hamilton did not possess this skill. Max always seems to be in the right place at the right time.
Whether it’s at the beginning of a race, in the first corner, or in a head-to-head battle, he always excels. It’s hard to imagine anyone doing better than him.
That’s why many consider Max Verstappen the greatest Formula 1 driver we’ve ever seen.
Even though the Austrians admire Verstappen, he still has a lot of work to do if he hopes to be remembered alongside legends like Hamilton and Schumacher in the history books. Verstappen, who is 26 years old, won last year’s F1 Championship with an impressive 575 points after winning 19 out of 22 Grand Prix races.
However, his total of 61 wins pales in comparison to Hamilton’s 105 and Schumacher’s 91 victories.
With 108 podiums, he also lags behind Hamilton (201) while his 32 fastest laps aren’t a patch on his rivals’ 67 and 77 (Schumacher) respectively. And while he’s already beaten Schumacher in terms of total career points – racking up 2,899.5 to date – he still has a long way to go should he eclipse Hamilton’s 4,805.5, especially considering the Briton is still driving and showing no signs of calling it quits just yet.