With ten victories, Gerhard Berger is one of the most successful drivers who never became world champion. In the early 1990s, he played the role at McLaren that Sergio Pérez now plays at Red Bull Racing: he saw teammate Ayrton Senna become world champion twice, while he himself only won three races for McLaren. The Austrian discusses the current situation in Formula 1 at Sport.de, where the comparison between Max Verstappen and Senna is quickly made.
Verstappen won twelve of the fourteen Grands Prix this season, and his third world title seems to be a matter of time. ‘If you try to imagine Formula 1 without Max (Verstappen, ed.), it would be a great championship. The field is close together, and there are four teams ready in the starting blocks: sometimes Ferrari does well, sometimes Aston Martin, McLaren, or Mercedes’, the Austrian indicates that it is quite unpredictable behind the unapproachable Verstappen. The reality, unfortunately for these teams, is that Verstappen is indeed in the running, and has a 194-point lead over the first non-Red Bull driver, Fernando Alonso.
Six points behind the Spaniard is seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, and Berger sees the 38-year-old Briton as the best chance to break Red Bull’s winning streak. ‘Hamilton is someone who always knows exactly when his day has come, and when he can make it come together. He will probably be the one who can put an end to the series.’ The last driver to achieve this was Mercedes teammate George Russell. The 25-year-old Briton is, besides Verstappen and Pérez, the only driver to win in the last 25 Grands Prix.
Comparison with Senna
Berger further indicates that Verstappen has completely taken over Formula 1. ‘Not long ago it was said that Lewis is the best driver. Now most people would probably say that’s Max, including me.’ According to ten-time Grand Prix winner Berger, Verstappen reminds him of his former teammate, Ayrton Senna, with whom he competed for McLaren from 1990 to 1992. ‘Whether it’s a fast circuit, or a slow circuit, whether it’s wet or dry, or the first free practice, the second free practice, you name it… He’s always at the front. That is very similar to how Senna played the field at the time.’
