Max Verstappen is brutally told he will NEVER be as good as F1’s best drivers despite racing to a third straight world championship win
- The Dutch driver has achieved back-to-back World Driver’s Championships
- He is on his way to a third straight title after eight consecutive races
- The season will resume on August 27 at his home circuit Zandvoort
According to former 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Richard Bradley, Max Verstappen cannot be regarded as one of the all-time greatest of Formula 1.
The Red Bull driver has claimed the last two World Driver’s Championships and appears to be on course for a third.
However, Bradley believes that because Verstappen has yet to take a race win with a car that is still in development, he can be regarded as the best Formula 1 has to offer.
However, Verstappen is in the midst of historic form, helping Red Bull break the record for the number of consecutive wins by a constructor with 12 in a row.
The Dutch driver has eight consecutive wins to his name since Sergio Perez’s victory at the Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan.
Despite being on course for a third title in a row, Max Verstappen still has his doubts
“For me, Max hasn’t proven himself well in a car that doesn’t have the ability to win yet,” explained Bradley on the On Track GP Podcast.
“I’m not talking about one that had a chance to win, I’m talking about one that really didn’t have a chance to win.
“But when you look at the real greats, Senna, with that 1984 (season) driving the Toleman but then winning in an uncompetitive Lotus when his teammates weren’t on the podium, then he went into a good car. But even when the McLaren wasn’t good in ’93, it still won races.
“You look at Schumacher. He won the World Championship in that Benetton when his teammates were absolutely nowhere, took Ferrari and won races in 1996 when they were nowhere again.
Despite a record seven world titles, there was no place for Lewis Hamilton on Bradley’s list of all-time greats.
“Look at (Mika) Hakkinen, he was winning races before McLaren was able to win the championship. Prost has won the most races not starting in the top four of anyone in history.”
Perhaps surprisingly, there was no mention of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, but there was praise for one of his greatest rivals, Sebastien Vettel.
“Back to the (Sebastian) Vettel factor, Vettel won a race in that Toro Rosso and was consistently in the top six”
Verstappen is well on his way to a third world title, so it looks like it could be some time before he can meet Bradley’s criteria for greatness.