Today, no driver can stand up to Max Verstappen in F1. This is because of his sheer driving talent, but also because of Red Bull’s dominant machinery. However, even before Verstappen started winning championships and breaking records, he was one of the greats in F1. This is as per British journalist Mark Hughes.
Verstappen made his F1 debut in 2015 with Toro Rosso. A year later, he was at Red Bull, winning a Grand Prix in his debut outing for the Milton-Keynes-based team. Between 2016 and 2020, he was labeled as a young talent, who was always on the toes of the Mercedes drivers, who then, were dominating the sport.
Come 2021, Red Bull fielded a competitive car. Verstappen rose to the occasion, fulfilled his destiny, and clinched his first-ever world championship, beating seven-time winner Lewis Hamilton. That put him on a list of legends, which Verstappen was already a part of, according to Hughes.
Max Verstappen was always among the F1 greats
Verstappen solidified his status as a legend of F1 even further last weekend when he secured his third-consecutive world title. He now has three championship wins in three seasons, something which very few could boast about. While people were praising Verstappen for becoming a great, Hughes jumped in to insist that he already was one, even without his championship wins.
“As far as I’m concerned, he’s been in between for a number of years,” he said to F1’s official website, as quoted by F1 Maximaal. “His cars have only gotten better and faster in recent years and this year he drives a dominant car. I am a bit reluctant to make rankings because the best drivers drove in different periods. But he is definitely one of the very best drivers in the history of the F1.”
Verstappen was in a close tussle for the title in 2021. In 2022, he dominated the latter half, winning 15 races in total, which people considered a unprecedented level of domination. However, this year, he took things up a notch.
Verstappen’s dominant 2023 season
So far, Verstappen has 14 wins in 2023, and he is the favorite to win the last four outings too. This will take his total tally to 18 which will be record-breaking, as the current honor rests with Verstappen himself at 15.
A lot of credit goes to his ability behind the wheel, especially since his teammate Sergio Perez finds himself struggling immensely. F1 action resumes in a week’s time, when the sport travels to Austin for the United States GP.
