F1: How Max Verstappen compares to legends at same age

By claiming his second crown, Max Verstappen has overhaulec F1 greats such as James Hunt and Nigel Mansell. He joins legends like Graham Hill and Jim Clark. He’s one off Ayrton Senna, Niki Lauda, and Sir Jackie Stewart.

Yet, Verstappen has an advantage on virtually every F1 driver in his bid for records in that he has only just turned 25 years old. Many drivers in the sport’s history had not even made their debut by that age.

Verstappen vs F1 greats at 25 years old

Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle on Max Verstappen

“I think the biggest asset he’s had is a complete touch for grip and feel.

“I first really spotted it at Toro Rosso back in China, making really deep lunges but keeping the car in control, right on the edge of locking wheels but not quite doing so. It was just a confidence, touch and ability he had to do that up against top drivers.

“That was really telling and that’s when I said, we’ve got a superstar on our hands here. Most youngsters make the lunge but then it would be a lock-up and a scruffy apex. But not Max.

“In Brazil in 2016 was another example, when he spun down the pit straight and somehow kept it out of the wall. He goes into management mode instinctively.”

‘A generational talent’: Verstappen’s rise to the top

It’s easy to forget that for so long, we wondered when Verstappen was going to find the success his early potential made it clear he was capable of.

While he claimed that first race victory in incredible circumstances on his Red Bull debut in 2016 – becoming F1’s youngest winner – by the end of the 2020 season, he only had 10 wins and three pole positions, the first of which he only secured a year before.

A title challenge, let alone winning one, looked a long way off.

But Red Bull taking advantage of the subtle yet crucial rule changes for 2021 and acing the 2022 rules has perfectly coincided with the very best of Verstappen.

From the 17-year-old debutant, to the 18-year-old winner, to his more inconsistent and rage-filled 2017 and 2018 seasons when he was known as ‘Mad Max’, Verstappen has evolved, and then some.

“He’s a once-in-a-generation talent, like Lewis, like Sebastian, like Michael, like Senna,” said Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok.

‘A different Max’: Now the complete package?

In 2021, Verstappen had a title-contending package for the first time in his career. And boy, did he make the most of it, going toe to toe with the most successful driver of all time in Lewis Hamilton.

But even in that triumphant season, the aggression that typified Verstappen’s first six years in F1 was on show. Sure, it aided him in a lot of wheel-to-wheel battles against Hamilton, but it also could have cost him – such as at Silverstone when he refused to back out, and in Brazil and Saudi Arabia where he could so easily have had bigger penalties.

Without a fortunate finale in Abu Dhabi, there may well have been a criticism of Verstappen for having gone a step too far with his combative style, and throwing away his first big title opportunity.

In 2022, we saw a truly different Verstappen.

Under the spotlight provided by the controversial and, by F1’s rules, unjust finish to the season, Verstappen kept his head.

Much like Hamilton in recent years, Verstappen played the long game in races. The Verstappen of old may have let frustration get the better of him after a start to the year that saw two DNFs from the first three races, and the Verstappen of old may have been impatient in wheel-to-wheel battles against Charles Leclerc, or with starting positions way down the grid.

But this Verstappen reaped the benefits from a different approach. He fought, and defeated, Leclerc fairly, while patient approaches to bad grid positions led to race wins in Hungary, Belgium and Italy.

The end result was 15 wins from 22 races, a new F1 record.

“I think we’ve seen a different Max,” said Chandhok. “I think the shackles have come off from last year. There were drives we saw at places like Spa, and Monza, where he didn’t go for those half gaps he’s gone for in the past, and he’s just picked his way through the field.”

“There’s no doubt about it, he’s added a maturity,” added Brundle.

“I think whilst just under the surface there’s still an angry driver – it’s part of his make-up – he’s learned to control that and play more of a patient game I would say, leave others to make mistakes.

“The team trust him, he trusts the team and I think he now knows it’s not about every corner of every lap all the time, you’ve got to pick your moments. He applied that patience and maturity to his unquestioned speed and at the same time, he’s still got those acrobatic reactions.”

He’s Just Starting

he most ominous thing for Verstappen and Red Bull’s rivals, is that this could just be the beginning.

Verstappen is a long way short of what you would typically say is a drivers’ prime, while this was the first year of sweeping regulation changes, not the last.

That means Red Bull can build on the base of this successful RB18 car, while also having the benefit of something they have often lacked since their last era, a promising engine.

The Red Bull Powertrains PU, aided by Honda, has been the best on the grid this season and their new division should also put them in good stead for the new engine rules after 2026.

“I think with the dominance they’ve got, with their race pace and what Max has done this year, they would have been able to switch attention to next year even earlier,” said Chandhok. “They don’t need to reinvent the wheel, whereas we know Mercedes need to redesign a lot for next season.”

Building a dynasty is no mean feat in F1 and Verstappen and Red Bull will not be foolish enough to think they can replicate Hamilton and Mercedes in a hurry.

But this does have all the makings of lasting success.

Red Bull provide the machine, and Verstappen provides the brilliance at the wheel, something he did over and over again this season.

He’s already arguably one of F1’s most talented, if not greatest, ever. Although he says he does not want to race late into his 30s, it’s not out of the realms of possibility that he gets close to Hamilton’s records when it’s all said and done. Sky Sports F1