Lewis Hamilton ‘can’t walk on water’ with Max Verstappen tipped to go even ‘further’

Ralf Schumacher believes Lewis Hamilton is “light years” away from matching the F1 legacy of his brother and fellow seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher.

And he is convinced that Max Verstappen “could actually go further” than Hamilton, claiming the Red Bull driver is more talented than his Mercedes rival.

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Hamilton stands as the most statistically successful driver in F1 history, having matched Schumacher’s tally of seven titles in 2020 before becoming the first man to surpass 100 race wins and pole positions the following year.

However, the British star has been restricted to just two victories since the end of the controversial 2021 season with Verstappen easing to three successive World Championships.

Despite failing to win a race since the Spanish Grand Prix on June 23, Verstappen holds a 52-point lead in the Drivers’ standings with six races remaining of the F1 2024 season.

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A fourth straight title would see 27-year-old Verstappen become only the second man in the sport’s history after Red Bull icon Sebastian Vettel to win his first four World Championships in consecutive seasons.

The success achieved by Hamilton and Verstappen over the last decade has seen both men enter the debate over the greatest drivers in F1 history alongside the likes of Schumacher and Ayrton Senna.

Appearing on the Formula1.de YouTube channel, however, Ralf Schumacher was adamant that his brother’s place in F1 history will remain untouched, arguing that his struggles with Mercedes over recent years have proven that Hamilton cannot “walk on water.”

And he feels that Verstappen could come closer than Hamilton to challenging the Ferrari icon’s legacy.

Schumacher said: “Not even Lewis Hamilton will ever come close to Michael. Not in light years, from my point of view.

“We thought Lewis Hamilton could walk on water and, no, he didn’t.

“We thought Max Verstappen could walk on water – although in my opinion, in terms of talent, he could actually go further than Lewis.

“That’s just the way it is.”

Schumacher went on to concede that being “in the right place at the right time” is crucial to a driver’s success, with his brother winning five titles consecutively with Ferrari between 2000 and 2004 in the most crushing spell of dominance F1 had seen to that point.

He added: “Michael was one of the drivers who made the difference. He was also very lucky to be in the right place at the right time.”

Last year, Hamilton appeared to question the validity of Verstappen’s achievements, claiming the Red Bull driver has had to contend with weaker team-mates over the course of his F1 career.

Hamilton has faced World Champions of the calibre of Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg, as well as multiple race winners Valtteri Bottas and George Russell, since his debut with McLaren in 2007.

Verstappen, meanwhile, has been partnered by the likes of Carlos Sainz, Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, who have a combined total of 12 race victories between them.

His current team-mate, six-time race winner Sergio Perez, currently trails Verstappen by 187 points ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas.

Hamilton told Sky Italy: “When I qualified half a second, six-tenths ahead of Valtteri, [the media] didn’t say the same thing as they say today when Max qualifies six-tenths ahead of Perez. “It’s blown up much more.

“In my personal opinion, Valtteri and all of my team-mates have been stronger than the team- mates that Max has had.

“Jenson, Fernando, George, Valtteri, Nico – I’ve had so many.

“These guys have all been very, very strong, very consistent and Max has not raced against anyone like that.”

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