Schumacher hopes Verstappen wins world title: 'This is a Max I really enjoy'

Mercedes entered the summer break leading the championship, but needed two crashes from Max Verstappen to do so. Lewis Hamilton, who managed to avoid the chaos of that second crash, does not lead the Drivers' Championship by the margin he is used to in recent years. That Mercedes' dominance has come to an end is a good thing in the opinion of former Formula One driver Ralf Schumacher.

The analyst has been saddened by the crashes between Mercedes and Red Bull Racing in recent races, but is convinced that there was no intent. However, he does see Hamilton taking full advantage of the opportunities that arise. "If Sebastian Vettel remains disqualified Lewis will get extra points with second place," he said in an interview with Motorsport.com.

However, the 46-year-old German doesn't think Red Bull have lost momentum as a result. "Mercedes, although I don't know what they did there, have just made a huge step since Silverstone, but at the same time I have to admit that in the third sector in Hungary I expected a little bit more from Red Bull. That's normally a Red Bull section, but it was disappointing."

Schumacher wishes Verstappen the world title

For Schumacher, who is the favourite for the title this year? "Personally, I would love to see Max win it, and he really deserves it," he replies. He bases this mainly on the growth Verstappen has experienced since his Formula One debut. "In the beginning he sometimes wanted too much and was sometimes too aggressive. Now we see a different Max Verstappen, one I really enjoy. I certainly wish him the title," Schumacher said.