F1: Verstappen on pace to beat Hamilton’s win record
Lewis Hamilton is the winningest driver in F1 history. No one ever thought he would surpass Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 wins, but he did, at the age of 35.
At 37-years old, Hamilton currently has 103 race wins, and he is still driving competitively. How many more will he tally before hanging it up?
That depends on whether Mercedes can deliver the superior car Hamilton has enjoyed almost his entire career, where he only had to beat his teammate because his car was so superior.
Will anyone ever surpass Hamilton’s win record?
Maybe.
Max Verstappen has amassed 28 wins so far, at the age of 24.
At 24 Hamilton only had 11 victories.
So far, Verstappen appears like he can someday surpass Hamilton, but Verstappen has never had a superior car like Hamilton did for so many years.
Verstappen has to fight other drivers from other teams to win races. He never had to only beat his teammate like Hamilton did.
It is too early to tell whether Verstappen can maintain his current race win pace, whether Red Bull can continue to produce a car on par with Mercedes and Ferrari, and whether he will continue to race as long as Hamilton has.
It’s obvious that Hamilton is looking over his shoulder at Verstappen. Otherwise, Hamilton would think about retiring and enjoying his wealth. But he sees Verstappen raking up wins at an alarming rate and Hamilton, likely, wants to see if he could add to his tally of 103 – to pad his cushion.
Hamilton’s lead appears insurmountable. But so did Schumacher’s.
What is obvious is that Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Max Verstappen are the three best F1 drivers the sport has ever seen.
Hamilton vs Verstappen Cumulative Win Record by Age
Age | Hamilton | Verstappen |
18 | 0 | 1 |
19 | 0 | 3 |
20 | 0 | 5 |
21 | 0 | 8 |
22 | 4 | 10 |
23 | 9 | 20 |
24 | 11 | 28 and counting |
25 | 14 | TBD |
26 | 17 | TBD |
27 | 21 | TBD |
28 | 22 | TBD |
29 | 33 | TBD |
30 | 43 | TBD |
31 | 53 | TBD |
32 | 62 | TBD |
33 | 73 | TBD |
34 | 84 | TBD |
35 | 95 | TBD |
36 | 103 | TBD |
37 | 103 | TBD |
Mark C. reporting for AutoRacing1.com