Jos Verstappen’s 2001 Arrows team-mate Enrique Bernoldi believes the Dutchman’s son is now amongst the greatest of all-time, joining the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.
Max Verstappen has been shattering records with ease this season, on his way to his third consecutive Drivers’ Championship which he sealed at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Just in 2023 alone, Verstappen has eclipsed Sebastian Vettel’s 2013 record for nine wins in a row and has joined the likes of Ayrton Senna as a three-time World Champion.
To add to that, the 26-year-old has broken his own record for most points and most wins in a season.
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If Verstappen wins in Brazil on Sunday, then he’ll beat Alberto Ascari’s 1952 record of having won 75% of the races.
In fact, if Verstappen remains unbeaten throughout the final three rounds, then he’ll have won 86.4% of the events in 2023.
Nobody has been able to stop the Red Bull driver, who is just three wins away from overtaking Vettel on the all-time winners least and moving into third place.
He is simply in a complete league of his own, with their being no indicator that his dominance will end anytime soon.
Bernoldi thinks it’s incredible how much the Dutchman has achieved despite his young age, and how his opponents know “they’re going to lose” when trying to defend against him.
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“Max is only 25 and he has achieved so much,” Bernoldi told Beyond The Grid. “I think he has passed [Aryton] Senna for wins already. So, surely Max will stand up there with the greats of all time.
“I think he’s up there with Lewis, with Senna, with Michael. He’s really, really fast now. Also what I like most about him is his mindset of domination against his opponents.
“It’s like they go to try to block him or try to pass him and it feels like they know in their heads that they’re going to lose. The way he just breaks so late and gets the guy, and the guy can’t do anything because he’s coming from such a long way back.”