Max Verstappen could suffer the same abuse from spectators as Michael Schumacher or Lewis Hamilton, Martin Brundle has warned. Writing in his regular post-race column for Sky Sports F1 , Brundle said he believed people would start "moaning" rather than appreciate Verstappen's dominance. The reigning World Champion has secured nine race wins in 2022 from 14 Grands Prix, and enjoys a 93 point championship lead with just eight rounds left. He is on course to become the seventh double two-time title winner after Alberto Ascari, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mika Hakkinen, and Fernando Alonso. Brundle emulated Verstappen's recent dominance of F1 to the Schumacher heyday or Hamilton era Verstappen ended when he took the British driver's crown in Abu Dhabi last December.
Verstappen fear from Brundle
"The Belgian GP in Spa promised to be an absolute thriller of a race but in the end it was rather ordinary, albeit with a fine comeback from Max Verstappen," wrote Brundle as Verstappen started 14th due to engine grid penalties. "It's not Verstappen's fault that he finds himself in such peak form, and so at one with his Red Bull car. "Frankly, you sense he could have been sitting in the garage reading his bank statements when the race started, and still won it. "We will of course soon have some people moaning that one driver is dominating, as we had with Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, among others, rather than them appreciating the level of excellence Red Bull and Max are delivering. "I do hope it was track specific and that Ferrari and Mercedes will be closer in the next few races." In his spell with Ferrari, Schumacher won five consecutive titles from 2000-2004 and 72 races in total with the Scuderia. As for Hamilton at Mercedes, he's claimed 82 wins since 2013, collecting six drivers' titles between '14 and '21 - only losing to Nico Rosberg in '16 and Verstappen last term.
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