It is hard to believe that 2023 is the ninth season in F1 for Max Verstappen. At the young age of 25, he has broken multiple records in the sport and has surpassed the careers of legends like Niki Lauda and Fernando Alonso. Many people feel that he can become the undisputed greatest of all time if he remains at this level for another decade.
Verstappen may be a step ahead of all F1 drivers at the moment, but that doesn’t mean that the grid is short of talent. Red Bull’s immensely superior car has also played a major role in the Dutch driver’s recent success. Drivers like Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, and Lando Norris are also some of the biggest talents in the sport and are considered to be champions in the making.
Two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen, however, claims that Norris is already on the same level as Verstappen. The two drivers had very different career paths until they joined F1, but even in the pinnacle of motorsports, they have driven for teams that compete at different ends of the grid.
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Lando Norris is on the same level as Max Verstappen and co.
Norris made his F1 debut in 2019 with McLaren, where he impressed the whole world with his talent. In his four seasons with the Woking-based squad to date, he has had six podium finishes but is yet to win a race.
Hakkinen, however, feels that Norris is on the same level as some of the best in F1 today including Verstappen. He also put the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in the same conversation as the Dutch driver.
In an interview with Unibet, he insisted that Norris has already achieved a lot in the sport, especially with the car he had at his disposal.
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Another dominant season for Verstappen?
Verstappen won his first world championship in 2021 after an epic season-long duel with 7-time winner Lewis Hamilton. He followed that up with a dominant campaign in 2022, where he sealed the title with four races to go. His performance last season also enabled his team Red Bull, to win their first constructors’ world title since 2013.
Heading into the 2023 season, fans were expecting the field to be closer, and for a team & driver to rise up to Verstappen’s challenge. However, Verstappen coasted home to victory in the opening round in Bahrain followed by his teammate Sergio Perez in second place.
This has made fans pessimistic about a competitive 2023 season, as many feel that the 25-year-old will dominate the year once again, winning his third successive drivers’ title.
