“That’s the beauty about this sport”: Max Verstappen's dominance is a 'beautiful thing' according to former F1 champion

Former F1 world champion Mario Andretti recently talked about Max Verstappen's dominance and how the Dutchman is breaking several records while winning races left, right, and center. Verstappen is currently cruising at the top of the championship table and has broken some of the longest-standing records in F1 history.

In an exclusive interview with PlanetF1, Andretti stated that hardly anyone thought that Michael Schumacher's legendary race win records would be broken, but they eventually were at the hands of Verstappen. Andretti stated that records being broken is what makes Formula 1 beautiful and exciting to watch.

“Did anyone ever think that Michael Schumacher’s win record would be broken, or World Championships – those are very impressive records. But that’s the beauty about this sport, I always say records are made to be broken,” he said.

Furthermore, Mario Andretti reminisced about his own records in the IndyCar series that were broken. Andretti stated that he was not down after witnessing this since he loves the sport and wants it to thrive.

“I’ve held some records in IndyCar for many, many years. All of a sudden, they’re in danger, so the way I look at the sport, I love to see the sport thrive. And the sport thrives when records are broken. That’s the beautiful thing about it. I look at it as a very, very positive thing for individuals like myself that love the sport above anything else,” he added.

Max Verstappen broke Michael Schumacher's record for most race wins in a single season and most podiums in a single season in 2022. It is safe to say that the Red Bull star will only increase the record numbers in 2023 as he is even more dominant than before.

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Former double F1 world champion draws parallels between Max Verstappen and Michael Schumacher

Former F1 driver Mika Hakkinen recently spoke about similarities between Max Verstappen and Michael Schumacher. The flying Finn stated that both Schumacher and Verstappen show how F1 and racing in general are their lives.

He highlighted how Verstappen is on the simulator or talking about racing even when he is not behind the steering wheel.

"Michael Schumacher. He was undoubtedly an incredible F1 driver. His dedication to the sport... racing was his life! It wasn't an ordinary job, not an ordinary hobby, but it was his life. Exactly that's what I see in Max as well: it's his life. He thoroughly enjoys what he does. When he's not in a race car, he's either driving in the sim or testing and developing things," Hakkinen was quoted as saying by RacingNews365.

Max Verstappen is currently leading the drivers' championship table with 314 points and is miles ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez.