With
the 2021 Formula 1 season underway, former F1 driver Eddie Irvine sat down for
an interview with Betway to talk about his views on drawing parallels between Lewis Hamilton and Max
Verstappen - who should win the title race, what it felt to be a partner to Michael Schumacher, and on the
F1 race as a whole
What are your
thoughts on the 2021 season so far?
Well,
the 2021 season so far has been stunning. Verstappen is unquestionably the
fastest driver out there at the moment, yet you need to say Lewis Hamilton is
most likely still the top driver. It's been phenomenal to watch those two
people go at it. I believe it will be an incredible season.
Red Bull and Max
Verstappen have been really competitive over the past few years. What changes
have you observed since last year to get that going?
With
respect to Verstappen’s driving - he's finally getting his act together, after
so many years! He's constantly been super-quick, and you can see that he's by
far the most dominant leader on the field. He's had many second drivers in the
group and none of them have been close to where he is. Somewhat similar to
Michael Schumacher impact. While Lewis has been consistently outplayed by his
colleagues, you'd need to say Verstappen is the ultimate talent, in spite of
the fact that Lewis is a quintessential expert and has not very many flimsy
points.
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Irvine
fought the world championship in 1999. Recalling his old days and the
pressure that the game generated, he said “The pressures of F1 were immense”.
He told Betway Insider, “You’ve got like 600 odd people working for you at
the factory, and you are responsible for getting the results in the end. So
the pressure is already built plus you should be doing a good job, because if
you’re in the sport, you better take it very seriously. You want to deliver
the best results and give 100 percent to it.”
Irvine
highlighted that he never had any problem and never took anything personal.
He also explained that all is fair in love and war, though he always treated
F1 as war. He played for himself and his team and never cared about anyone
else.
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How was your
experience racing with Michael Schumacher and how much did you learn from him?
It
was amazing. I believe he was and will always be the greatest driver of all
time. He always dominated his teammates with his ability to race so fast. In the old days it was amazing to watch him. I
felt it was an honour. How much did I learn? – Well, it was difficult as he’s a
pure talent. He has this amazing ability to get the most out of the racing car.
I always enjoyed working with him, never had any issue working with him at all.
A good working relationship, I would say. We as teammates have always tried to
perform the best possible.
Has the hunger for
F1 titles changed over the decades?
It
has become more professional, just like any other sport but definitely less
interesting and fun for sure.
Do you think
Channel 4’s coverage and Netflix’s drive
to survive will be successful in engaging more audience?
They
have done a great job. I have got a lot of people telling me that they love
Formula 1 and they love Netflix. I believe they have done an amazing job with
the content and it has definitely attracted a lot of fans. I will give a 10/10
for the people in marketing and the brains behind this.