SUMMARY
- Geuther Steiner places Max Verstappen alongside Niki Lauda for his dream F1 lineup.
- Niki Lauda was considered to be a very analytical driver that made any team successful.
Guenther Steiner has come into the limelight in this last week. It has almost been a week since his departure from Haas was announced and he is still making headlines. In a recent interview, he was asked about his dream driver lineup in F1. In response, he mentioned Max Verstappen along with another legend of the sport.
Over the last few years, Verstappen has proven himself to be among the greatest drivers of all time. After the 2020 season, the Dutch driver did not even have 10 race wins. However, since the 2021 season, he has won 45 Grand Prix. These last 3 years have made him one of the most dominant drivers of all time.
Guenther Steiner adds Max Verstappen to his dream lineup along with another legend
Right now it seems as though any team principal would like to have Max Verstappen in their driver lineup. However, for the 2nd driver, Guenther Steiner went for Niki Lauda.
“I’d pick Max and Niki Lauda” “In his time he was the man which could, you know, even if he was not the fastest he could bring them results and he’s good fun, by the way.”
Guenther Steiner picks his dream F1 driver pairing
“I’d pick Max and Niki Lauda”
“In his time he was the man which could, you know, even if he was not the fastest he could bring them results and he’s good fun, by the way.”
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) January 13, 2024
Niki Lauda made his F1 debut in 1971. He was known for being a very analytical driver. He had this ability to understand the car’s strengths and weaknesses after just a few rounds. This made him an asset to every team on the grid. Even if the car was not good, Lauda would know exactly what is required to make the car faster.
Niki’s talents did not go to waste even after his retirement. He continued as an advisor for several teams including Jaguar. Lauda was vital in the success Mercedes had during the beginning of the Turbo-Hybrid era. He continued to help Mercedes until he passed away before the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix. The team has run a red star on their car since then to honor the Austrian legend.
How does Max Verstappen’s accomplishments compare to Niki Lauda’s?
Niki Lauda was considered the best driver of his time. He was easily the driver of the decade during the 1970s. He won 2 Championships with Ferrari and another one with McLaren. The Austrian won his first championship in 1975. The next season, he had a horrifying accident that left his face burnt.
After the accident, he had permanent scars on his face and body. He had to miss 2 races as he was recovering from these injuries. There is no doubt that Lauda would have won the Championship that year as well if not for the horrifying accident. The next year, he went on to win another championship with Ferrari. His next Championship came a few years later in 1984 when he took his talents to McLaren. Over his career, Lauda has won 25 races in his career.
Nico Rosberg and Niki Lauda play football ahead of delayed qualifying for the 2015 United States GP pic.twitter.com/omJqjYfi52
— F1 archive footage (@formulogs) January 13, 2024
Max Verstappen on the other hand has also won 3 Championships so far. All of his Championships came in consecutive years from the 2021 season. His total race-win tally has gone up to 54. This is an incredible accomplishment given that the number of drivers with 50+ wins can be counted in one hand.
Although it looks like Max has accomplished more in his F1 career, these 2 drivers cannot be compared due to the different eras they both raced in. During the 1970s, the F1 cars were completely different. We had so many teams trying out so many different concepts. Back then, the engines were not very reliable. So the drivers were not able to complete many races. But there is no doubt that both these drivers are some of the best of their own eras.
