Credits: IMAGO Motorsport Images
In 2021, Max Verstappen became the World Champion after a grueling season-long battle with Lewis Hamilton. For F1, it was exciting to see a change from the regular occurrence of Hamilton emerging victorious at the end of a campaign. However, what it only did was, pass on the baton of dominance to the Dutch driver.
For years, Hamilton became a victim of the claim that he won only because Mercedes was strong. His six World Championships and unparalleled dominance were deemed a result of the Silver Arrows’ mechancial package. Now, the same comments are being thrown Max Verstappen’s way, and if anything, it’s worse.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown recently said (as quoted by Planet F1), ”
As great as Max is, and he’s one of the best ever, I don’t think Max wins the World Championship today in any other car, other than the Red Bull.
Brown also added that there are ‘six or seven’ drivers in the F1 grid today who would do what Verstappen is doing with the Milton-Keynes-based outfit today. Verstappen has been the undisputed best (statistically) since 2022 and created history last season by winning 19 out of 22 races.
Brown’s comments, however, take the special aspect away from his ridiculous numbers. And with this, the 26-year-old will now have to fight off claims that Hamilton had to deal with for the majority of his career.
Is Zak Brown’s opinion on Max Verstappen valid?
It is no secret that Max Verstappen is driving for arguably the best team in F1 at the moment. Red Bull dealt with the ground-effect regulation changes of 2022 better than anyone else. This made the RB18, the RB19, and now the RB20 stronger than any other car on the grid.
Verstappen cruised to victories on most occasions. Meanwhile, others on the grid have been able to put up very little resistance despite the presence of legends like Hamilton and Fernando Alonso on the grid. So, it is evident that driving a dominant car has helped Verstappen achieve the success he has tasted as of late.
On the other hand, his teammate, Sergio Perez, has been nowhere close to matching him. Perez joined Red Bull in 2021 and in his four seasons so far, has been comprehensively outperformed. In 2023, Verstappen finished with more than double the points Perez amassed.
For a driver to do this at a level as high as F1 is staggering. But to brush away the claims Zak Brown made, Verstappen has to do something more special.
Ferrari and McLaren are on the ascendency. If they reach Red Bull’s level in the near future, drivers like Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris will have a similar mechanical package at their disposal.
Hence, if Verstappen is able to beat Leclerc and Norris then, he will prove that it is not just Red Bull’s car that helped him register all these milestones. And that he is indeed arguably one of the greatest drivers in F1 history.
