'Verstappen had bad luck, he should have been World Champion long ago'

Bad luck for Verstappen, good luck for Hamilton

Although Verstappen now holds an eight-point lead, the Dutchman has had plenty of bad luck this season. "Innocently bowled off the track at Silverstone, innocent victim of the collision at the start in Hungary, plus the blowout in Baku," Schumacher listed the incidents when speaking to Speedweek.com.

"Max has been really unlucky, he should have been world champion a long time ago."

Schumacher believes that Hamilton has had a bit of good fortune on his side this year. "In general, Lewis is often lucky with bad luck. Even in Imola, where he made a mistake, he ended up finishing second. His talent is undisputed, but I see Hamilton as the luckier driver this year. Max has taken more hits."

Hamilton has more to lose

Schumacher believes that the title fight has left its mark on both Hamilton and Verstappen, but that the Mercedes driver in particular has a lot to lose. "He doesn't have many years left, so he's desperate for that eighth title. At the end of the day, even he doesn't know what his car will look like next year when we get this new generation of race cars."

There will be no such pressure with Verstappen. "Max can say to himself in defeat: 'Well, we were close, it didn't work out, but I still have enough time for new attempts'. So from my point of view, the pressure will be more on Lewis."

Deciding title battle without crashes

In the past, titles were sometimes decided with a crash between title rivals. That is something Schumacher does not like to see happen. "I hope we will see two more races without crashes. There are theories that Max, as leader, could be in a crash, but I really hope not. The decision has to be made between these two, with no outside interference. It has to be hard but fair. And who wins in the end, that remains to be seen."