Ralf Schumacher claims the only thing special about Qatar GP is Max Verstappen not winning Sprint on title clinching night
Apart from Verstappen, only five drivers have won the title on a Saturday in F1's history.
Max Verstappen (via autoX)
Max Verstappen will surely be recovering from a big hangover before the race after winning the title yesterday. His impeccable season run has been applauded by many in F1 circles. Recently, former F1 driver and pundit Ralf Schumacher praised Verstappen in his column for Sky Sports, claiming that Verstappen not winning was the only special thing that happened that night.
Nelson Piquet was the last driver to win the title on a Saturday all the way back in 1983. However, Schumacher claims this rarity does not add any specialty to the event. He said that the only thing that was special for Verstappen was that he lost by a small margin. He claimed that regardless of winning the title, Verstappen is already one of F1’s all-time greats.
“The only thing that was really special for him is that he didn’t win. He missed just a little bit,” said Schumacher, as per Racing News 365. Verstappen surely deserves every bit of appreciation coming his way. The Dutchman’s brutal domination this season will surely go down in the history books. One of the records which Verstappen might go after is the percentage of wins in a season. Michael Schumacher currently holds that record with 72.2%.
In case you missed it: F1 boss claims Max Verstappen’s dominant 2023 Championship triumph shows that ‘pure racing talent makes the difference’
Ralf Schumacher predicts Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to dominate F1 in the coming years
The McLaren duo, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, have impressed everyone in F1 circles. The massive upgrades to the MCL60 coupled with their skills have propelled them to the top of the leaderboards. Piastri, in just his rookie year, has already bagged a podium and a sprint win. F1 pundit Ralf Schumacher has claimed that the duo will be a force to reckon with.
Schumacher praised both Norris and Piastri. He said that while Norris is already in his prime, Piastri is well on his way and will reach that level in a few years. However, he said that for a rookie, Piastri is at the top of his game. The duo had also finished P2-P3 in the qualifying but had their lap times deleted due to track violations.
“In the future, the duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will undoubtedly be one of the strongest in the field. Norris is at his highest level, but Piastri still needs a year or two. However, as a rookie he is already riding a fantastic level,” said Schumacher.
Discover more:
- Lance Stroll breaks silence on pushing his personal trainer after Qatar GP Q1 elimination
- Christian Horner proclaims Max Verstappen is on ‘another level’ compared to Sebastian Vettel after his title win at Qatar GP sprint
Soham Jain
(222 Articles Published)