Peter Windsor believes Max Verstappen has it “absolutely” in him to become a seven-time world champion, equalling the record held by Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher. The Formula 1 analyst explains why he sees that as a realistic scenario.
Max Verstappen era in F1
Formula 1 is in the Max Verstappen era. The Dutchman dominated the 2023 season with Red Bull Racing, winning his third world title in a row. As the regulations remain largely the same until 2026, it is not inconceivable that Verstappen will be the top favourite for the world title for both 2024 and 2025.
Currently, Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher share the record for most world titles in F1 history. Hamilton signed a two-year contract extension with Mercedes in the summer of 2023, hoping to add an eighth title to his list.
After two winless seasons, while Verstappen and Red Bull are thriving, Peter Windsor is beginning to doubt whether Hamilton still has a chance of winning that eighth title. Verstappen, on the other hand, could certainly join Schumacher and Hamilton by adding seven world titles to his name, according to the analyst.
Windsor does see Verstappen winning seven world titles
“For sure he could, absolutely,” Windsor stated in a live stream on his YouTube channel. “I was talking about this with a friend actually, about how good Max is now. I made the point that one of the reasons he is so good now, so intense, and this is one of the reasons he’s good, is because he’s always been in a very good team with a very good car and knows those people well, particularly Adrian Newey and Christian Horner.”
He continued: “It’s a very good team as well. It’s one thing to know your team if they’re midfield, it’s another thing if they’re the best team in Formula 1 and he fits there like a glove on a hand and that’s absolutely a perfect situation for a driver with that amount of talent. And what has happened, as a result of that, the talent has taken an additional leap forward, I think to a realm that perhaps we’ve never seen before in the history of Formula 1.”
The former Williams team manager sees certain qualities in Verstappen that he has never seen in a driver before. “I don’t like comparing eras, but I can’t think of another driver who has been so in-sync with the car he drives, which happens to be, for the most part, a racing-winning car,” he continued.
Doubts about Hamilton’s chances of eighth F1 title
“I know there was a period when the Mercedes engine had the advantage and he didn’t have the power to compete, but even then it was a very good team getting the best from the car with a down-on-power engine. And it was a team that a young kid would want to be with at that point. Now, the car is brilliant and it’s just bringing more and more out of Max Verstappen.”
The F1 analyst hopes Hamilton will one day get the chance to win another world championship but doubts the Mercedes driver will be able to do so. “I’m not sure that he will get that opportunity as long as Max is there at Red Bull to be honest,” Windsor said.
