Before Max Verstappen became a Red Bull superstar, Sebastian Vettel was their main man and won four World Championships with the Milton-Keynes-based outfit.
Vettel and Verstappen are arguably Red Bull’s two greatest drivers. The former dominated the sport between 2010 and 2013 winning four World Championships with them. However, his career has not been the same since he left them for Ferrari in 2015.
Vettel won 14 races with Ferrari but failed to pose a serious threat to Mercedes. After that he moved to Aston Martin and his two years with the team have been very underwhelming. The German legend announced earlier this year that he will retire at the end of the year.
Max Verstappen on the other hand, is having the time of his life. He’s been with Red Bull his whole F1 career so far, and just secured his second World Title win in 2022. Verstappen is just 25 years old but has already established himself as an all time great. If he keeps his form and Red Bull keeps providing him with race winning cars, fans feel that Verstappen will smash all World Records.
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Christian Horner compares Sebastian Vettel with Max Verstappen
Vettel was seen as Red Bull’s best driver of all time until Verstappen’s emergence in F1. Until 2020, Verstappen was just a driver who was labeled as a Champion in the making. But when Red Bull gave him a Championship winning car, the Dutchman showed the world just how good he was.
Team principal Christian Horner feels that both drivers are legendary in their own ways. However, Verstappen will surpass Vettel’s legacy in F1 according to the 48-year-0ld. He called Vettel one of the legends of the sport because of his achievements but insists that Verstappen’s talent is still underappreciated at times.
“Max, what we’re seeing today in Mexico and this year is very special,” he said. “I think sometimes his achievements aren’t recognized in the way they should be. Because I think what we’ve seen this year is an absolutely outstanding achievement.”
Verstappen has 14 race wins this season, which has officially made this the most dominant F1 season for a driver in history. He can still add on that and smash all records by winning the remaining two outings in Sao Paolo and Abu Dhabi.
