Max Verstappen’s pursuit of Lewis Hamilton’s Formula 1 records has slowed this year. The Red Bull driver has only won two of the first 12 races.
That puts Verstappen on 65 overall, still 40 short of Hamilton’s all-time benchmark. Despite collecting four this year, he’s further back for pole positions (44 vs 104).
Verstappen’s title streak is set to end at four with an all-McLaren battle anticipated. He will likely miss the chance to equal Michael Schumacher’s benchmark of five on the bounce.
Photo by Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
But the consensus in F1 is that Verstappen is now the best driver on the grid. Hamilton largely held that mantle during a run of six titles in seven years at Mercedes, but has relinquished amid the tribulations of the ground-effect era.
Guenther Steiner says Lewis Hamilton is the only F1 driver who’s bigger than his team
Speaking on the Business of Sport podcast, former Haas boss Guenther Steiner pinpointed the one area where Hamilton is still ahead of Verstappen – stature.
While Red Bull have built their operation around the Dutchman, Steiner says Hamilton is the only driver who can claim to be bigger than the team. He’s racing for the sport’s most iconic and successful outfit in Ferrari.
The difference is that Hamilton has embraced his status as a celebrity who transcends his sport, whereas Verstappen is only interested in racing. This contrast was summed up by the recent ‘F1’ movie, with the former serving as a producer and the latter skipping the glitzy premiere entirely.
“In Formula 1, the only one above the team is Lewis Hamilton,” Steiner said. “His presence, his stature – it’s very big outside of the sport as well.
Lewis Hamilton vs Ferrari in the 21st century
“You are big in the sport, but then when you get big outside the sport, you are bigger than the actual team. I think in Formula 1, the only one you can claim that is Lewis at the moment.
“Max is very big in the sport, but he doesn’t work on being somebody outside of the sport. For him, his life is racing cars. Lewis has got another thing he wants to achieve in life.
“I think we see it now with Lewis at Ferrari. There are two huge brands together, and it’s almost sometimes a conflict – who is bigger? Ferrari or Lewis?
Asked if he would have signed Hamilton for ‘the Lewis factor’, Steiner replied: “I don’t think Ferrari need that.”
Christian Horner once warned Max Verstappen about where he stood at Red Bull
When uncertainty erupted over Verstappen’s future at the start of 2024, then team boss Christian Horner warned him that ‘no one is bigger than the team’ (via The Guardian). That statement may have backfired.
Indeed, reports last week claimed that Verstappen was instrumental in Horner’s sacking. He may have used the prospect of joining Mercedes as leverage.
It’s worth noting that Verstappen’s camp deny involvement in the decision, and Dutch journalist Erik van Haren says ‘all parties’ concur. But whether deliberate or otherwise, his apparent discontent was surely a factor.
Verstappen (third) sits 62 points above Hamilton (sixth) in the current standings, with the 40-year-old on a podium drought stretching back to last November.