World title for Verstappen with six races to go: Schumacher matched
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- Toby McLuskie
Max Verstappen secured a new, third world title in the sprint race in Qatar. The 26-year-old Dutchman cannot be overtaken with six GPs remaining in the championship (including Qatar itself) to go. This puts Verstappen on a par with Michael Schumacher.
In 2002, Michael Schumacher and the Ferrari team dominated the king class of motorsport. The German won his fifth world title with six races to go. Together with his teammate Rubens Barrichello, the German driver managed to win no fewer than 15 of the 17 races.
Verstappen managed the same 21 years later in his RB19. The F1 calendar has six more races (Qatar, Austin, Mexico, Brazil, Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi), in which a total of 172 points remain to be distributed. Finally, there are also sprint races scheduled in Austin and Brazil. However, Verstappen's lead is so big that he is already unbeatable.
Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport already compared Verstappen's season after this year's Hungary GP to Michael Schumacher's season in 2002. 'He was a little boy when he first met Schumacher. It happened in the paddock of an F1 race, how could it be otherwise? Today Verstappen, the fast-growing boy who crushes all GP records, is chasing the Schumacher myth.' So the equalling record is now a reality.