Max Verstappen (Lewis Hamilton’s successor) currently holds a 116-point advantage over second-placed Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ championship. With only six races left this season, it’s a foregone conclusion that the Red Bull driver already has a second title in his pocket.
Having said that, some aspects of what Verstappen has already achieved in just the first year of his championship reign are very impressive. So much so that they surpassed Lewis Hamilton as well, who won his first F1 title in 2008 with McLaren.
After a six-year gap, Hamilton reclaimed the title with Mercedes in 2014 and then went on an impressive run. Other than a blip in 2016 (when Nico Rosberg beat him), Hamilton remained unbeaten until the 2021 F1 season when he was topped by Verstappen.
We nailed it 
We had an amazing start and I was able to quickly get in my rhythm. The car was absolutely flying and really enjoyable to drive all weekend, great work once again team! https://t.co/vx7oTVKRFH
Ever since then, Max Verstappen has taken over with the 2022 F1 season being his first title defense. It started on a bumpy road with two DNFs in the first three races but then the Red Bull driver took over and things have been much better. So much so that in just his second season, his championship reign appears to be more impressive than Lewis Hamilton’s. Of course, seven titles and more than 100 wins is a mountain to climb, but there are already certain areas where Verstappen has started to better Hamilton.
#1 Max Verstappen has already defeated the previous benchmark in Lewis Hamilton
One key thing about Max Verstappen’s first title was the fact that he beat the current benchmark of his time in Lewis Hamilton. Consider the 2021 F1 Abu Dhabi GP debacle. Even if we assume that Hamilton was ‘robbed’ off the title, can we still definitely say that Verstappen was not the better driver that season?
At the end of the season, all drivers and team principals were asked to vote on who they thought was the best driver of the 2021 F1 season. Max Verstappen comfortably won that vote. He was also voted the best driver by almost every leading publication in F1. In the 2021 F1 season, the story is not only about the debacle of the last race, but how in equal machinery/opportunity, Verstappen was the better driver.
Compared to Lewis Hamilton, this was not the case. He did not beat the benchmark in 2014 (Sebastian Vettel or Fernando Alonso). Of course, it wasn’t his fault, but the narrative was clearly there: Max Verstappen took the title from the best benchmark in a similarly-paced car. Hamilton, on the other hand, could not do that as the car was just far superior to any of his elite contemporaries (Vettel or Alonso).
#2 Verstappen’s level of consistency
Nico Rosberg always focuses on one key aspect when questioned about how he beat Lewis Hamilton in 2016. The German talked about how there were times when Hamilton took a weekend off or was not on his game. It was that particular weekend that you had to target and score the maximum possible points. Rosberg used that strategy to great effect as he ended up beating Hamilton in that seat.
Most Consecutive Wins: Sebastian Vettel, 2013
This was reflected in Nico Rosberg’s record as he amassed a seven-race win streak against someone of Lewis Hamilton’s caliber. He first picked up wins in the 2015 F1 season when Hamilton had already wrapped up the title. He then started the 2016 F1 season with a bang and stretched his winning streak to seven races. The German driver focused on inflicting maximum damage when Hamilton had his off weekends and that helped in beating him.
When was the last time Max Verstappen had an off weekend? The F1 Monaco GP was only one weekend of the season so far! The Red Bull driver is a true progression from previous generations and sustains a high level of performance. This kind of consistency is not easy to maintain and that is why we saw Lewis Hamilton fall back last season and Ferrari crumble this season. What Verstappen can achieve week in and week out has even set him apart from a legend like Hamilton who was able to achieve so much during his peak.
#3 The records Verstappen is about to break
Lewis Hamilton’s career-best winning streak is five races and the most races he has won in a season is 11. With his win at Monza, Max Verstappen has matched Hamilton’s five-race win streak and has already scored 11 wins this season. With six races remaining this season, Verstappen looks all set to break Hamilton’s career-best stat of most wins in a season. That, however, is not the only record he would be breaking. Having broken Hamilton’s record for the most podiums in a season last year, Verstappen looks set to better it as well.
In all likelihood, Verstappen would better Hamilton’s record of most points in a season as well (413 points) and all of this would be done in a car that is not even closely as dominant as the Mercedes was.
Verstappen started his F1 championship reign by doing the same things that Hamilton did during his dominant reign, but just doing it better! He’s more consistent, scoring more points, racking up more wins, and to add to that, doing it with a car that is much less dominant than the Mercedes of yesteryear.
It would be foolish to think that Verstappen would go on to beat Hamilton’s record of more than 100 wins and seven world titles. Such a reign requires the fortune of having a fast car for that long. For whatever time Verstappen has the car under him, however, he’s doing things at a level higher than what Hamilton ever did.
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