F1 chief says Michael Schumacher unleashed ‘sporting cannibalism’ in 26-year-old

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Formula 1 head of race operations Graham Watson believes Michael Schumacher was indirectly responsible for creating a ‘sporting cannibal’ in Max Verstappen of Red Bull.

Watson worked with Verstappen during their time at Toro Rosso before going on to serve as AlphaTauri’s sporting director. He was the Faenza outfit’s race team manager when Red Bull put Verstappen in one of their cars. Watson first joined Toro Rosso back in the 2014 season.

Red Bull ushered Verstappen into the pinnacle of motorsport in 2015 after only one season of racing single-seater cars. But he proved enough through just 23 Grand Prix at Toro Rosso to replace Daniil Kvyat in Milton Keynes in 2016. Now, Verstappen is a three-time champion.

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen ranks third all-time in F1 for Grand Prix wins

Verstappen scored points in 10 of his 19 Grand Prix as a rookie and in three of the first four races in 2016. The 26-year-old also won on his debut for Red Bull at the Spanish GP, beating Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo. He has since reached 54 race wins across 185 entries.

Just Lewis Hamilton (103) and Schumacher (91) have won more Grand Prix than Verstappen, as well. The Dutchman also ranks seventh all-time for podium finishes with 98, or 53% of his total Grand Prix entries. Hamilton (197) and Schumacher (155) also lead that Formula 1 stat.

Verstappen could even now move level with Sebastian Vettel and Alain Prost as a four-time F1 champion in 2024. Only Hamilton and Schumacher (7) plus Juan Manuel Fangio (5) have ever won more than four F1 titles. Verstappen is level with Ayrton Senna and Niki Lauda (3).

Michael Schumacher indirectly unleashed a ‘sporting cannibal’ in Max Verstappen

Red Bull even saw Verstappen achieve the most dominant season in Formula 1 history over the 2023 campaign. He won 19 of the 22 Grand Prix, 86.3% of the races, to also pip Alberto Ascari’s win per cent record of 75% set in 1952. Schumacher’s best was 72% through 2004.

Schumacher is also one of the factors F1 chief Watson believes helped turn Verstappen into the force he is. He feels the iconic German helped to indirectly unleash a sense of ‘sporting cannibalism’ in the Dutchman following Schumacher’s time as Jos Verstappen’s teammate.

Jos Verstappen, the father of Max, was Schumacher’s teammate at Benetton in 1994. But Watson doubts the team gave the Dutchman an equal opportunity as Schumacher won the first of his titles. So, Jos ensured Max knew what it would take to reach the very top in F1.

“You have to be the man around whom the whole team revolves,” he said, via Gazzetta dello Sport. “You can also see it now with Max: first he beats his teammate, then he wins the title.

“I don’t think Jos was treated fairly at Benetton. And this partly meant that Max understood one aspect of F1 very well: the importance of having the same equipment. Then, talent will do the rest.”