“Strong” Max Verstappen Placed in the Same Class as F1 Greats and Lewis Hamilton Would Not Be Pleased

Sabyasachi Biswas | 14/05/2023
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Emanuele Pirro has recently hailed the two-time world champion Max Verstappen and went on to compare him with Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. The former F1 driver believes that the Dutchman is currently at a level, where he can easily be compared with the iconic F1 duo.

According to a recently published report by Gazzetta Motori, Pirro said, “It’s [Verstappen’s caliber] at the levels Senna and Schumacher were at when they were at the point where he is now.” Notably, Verstappen is on his way to claim his third title of his career.

Lewis Hamilton has repeatedly claimed Senna as his F1 hero, while Schumacher is the benchmark he’s beaten and continues to try and eclipse. To see his greatest rival compared to the legends he aspires to out-perform would be like salt in his wounds.

After comparing the Dutch pilot with seven-time world champion Schumacher and three-time world champion Senna, the Italian former driver also had an enormous appraisal for the defending champion. He emphasized and appreciated the way the physical and mental strength of the Dutch pilot.

On this, he said, “When you see someone going very fast with minimal steering wheel adjustments you can be sure: he is very strong.” Furthermore, Pirro asserted that the 25-year-old has just covered one-third of his career in racing, as he is still to taste numerous successes in the days to come.

Verstappen’s greatest secrets revealed

The Dutch pilot is regarded as an immensely strong and focused character when it comes to his racecraft. Former Ferrari star Felipe Massa believes this habit and behavior of his is what sets him apart from the rest of the grid.

Talking about this as per Gazzetta Motori, Massa stated that Verstappen is only focused on racing. And he does this without getting distracted and as a result, this helps him to always give his best in races.

The Brazilian former driver further added that, if the 25-year-old could, he would be driving twenty-four hours a day. Be in the simulator or on the track. Admittedly, the former Toro Rosso driver himself recently shared that he loves to have a go at the simulator in his free time.

Max Verstappen is a driver who comes every 20 years

Former Ferrari driver Giancarlo Fisichella is of the opinion that a driver of Max Verstappen‘s stature comes once every 20 years. The former Italian driver is believed to have said this after witnessing the mega rise the Dutchman had in the racing circuit.

From excelling in karts to directly Formula 3, from there on he had a magnificent rise in Formula 1. Speaking on this, Fisichella was left aback by how a 17-year-old arrives at the sport, gets promoted, and becomes a GP winner in his debut race for Red Bull.

Emphasizing this, he said, “He is even ahead of the greats of the past who preceded him.” Fisichella concluded with, “And in any case, a driver like Verstappen is born once every 20 years.“

Post Edited By: Shreya Sanjeev
Ayrton Senna Emanuele Pirro Felipe Massa Giancarlo Fisichella Max Verstappen Michael Schumacher

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Sabyasachi Biswas

Sabyasachi Biswas is an F1 journalist at The SportsRush. With over one and a half decades of love for the sport and five years of experience in the field, he dreams to be a regular at the paddock when the lights go out. A Red Bull fan and F1 fan in general over the years, he enjoyed watching Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, and Max Verstappen dominate the track. Apart from F1, he's also a big-time Madridista and Federer fanatic. He was a sub-junior level footballer, won inter-district quizzes and debate competitions back in school. A travel freak throughout, he tries different cuisines and learns new cultures whenever he's away from the keyboard.

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