‘Outstanding’ winless F1 driver told he should have been the next Michael Schumacher by John Watson

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Every person who reaches Formula 1 dreams of becoming the most successful driver of all time.

Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher are currently the benchmark of every driver in the sport, with seven drivers’ championships each.

Hamilton is now trying to emulate Schumacher by winning a title with Ferrari, although his maiden campaign for the Scuderia hasn’t gone to plan so far.

He’s yet to secure his first podium, excluding Sprint Races, and sits 131 points behind current championship leader Oscar Piastri.

However, there are a host of drivers who arrived in Formula 1 with a huge amount of hype surrounding them.

Toto Wolff has played down expectations on Andrea Kimi Antonelli ahead of his debut for Mercedes this season.

On the other end of the spectrum, Max Verstappen has reached and potentially even surpassed what many believed he would achieve when he became F1’s youngest ever driver in 2015.

Former F1 driver and commentator John Watson has now suggested that a far more experienced driver should have reached the same levels as Schumacher, but has never even won a race.

READ MORE: Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg’s life outside F1 from wife to height

John Watson says Nico Hulkenberg was expected to be the next Michael Schumacher

Watson was speaking on the Drive to Wynn Podcast and reflecting on Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg securing his first F1 podium at the British Grand Prix.

Talking about the experienced German’s career, Watson said: “Just goes to show that [you should] never give up.

“And I mean, Nico Hulkenberg has been, in my opinion, an outstanding competitor who’s never really been given the opportunity in a top car, in a top team.

“And if he could take his career back 10 or 15 years, I mean, he was going to be, without hesitation, question, shadow or doubt, arguably, the next Michael Schumacher. He was that good in A1GP.

“But for some reason, he went to Williams, and I forget all the other teams he’s been to, he’s never had that opportunity since.

“Now he’s gotten his podium position, it’ll be interesting to see when the teams go to Spa, if that transforms into another [podium].

“It’s not likely to be another podium in Spa, because unless we’ve got typical Spa weather, which you wouldn’t want to bet against, if it’s a dry race, then there’s going to be the regular teams are going to be running away with it.

“But what Sauber and Audi are doing are moving forward.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Sauber from team principal to 2026 Audi future

How the media reacted to Nico Hulkenberg’s first Formula 1 podium at the British Grand Prix

Hamilton missed out on his first Ferrari podium at Silverstone, and typically, that wouldn’t have gone down well with the British crowd.

He had been on the podium every year at his home race since 2013, but Hulkenberg was likely the only driver who would have received such a positive reception by beating the seven-time world champion.

Verstappen was delighted for Hulkenberg after finally ending his long wait for a top-three finish.

Hulkenberg received a standing ovation from the media centre when he took the chequered flag, something that had never happened before.

The German driver’s junior career was incredibly impressive, but he’s never found his way into a top team that would have offered him the chance to consistently challenge for wins and podiums.

Sam Bird has shared why he thinks Hulkenberg was never signed by Ferrari, but it’s almost certainly too late for him to make that sort of move now.