Max Verstappen has quashed suggestions that he’s “one of the all-time greats”, with the Red Bull driver admitting that he’s simply in Formula 1 to “do the best I can”.
The reigning World Champion was recently hailed as one of the best by Red Bull chief technical officer Adrian Newey, who’s certainly seen a few F1 legends in his time in the paddock.
Verstappen is certainly putting himself up there with the greatest drivers of all-time, given that he’s on the brink of claiming a third consecutive Drivers’ Championship.
If that wasn’t enough, the Dutchman broke Sebastian Vettel’s record for most consecutive wins last weekend at the Italian Grand Prix, where won for the 10th race in a row.
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His 10th consecutive win last Sunday also marked his 12th overall for the season, putting him just three race wins away from matching his record for most victories in a season.
With eight races still remaining, most expect the 25-year-old to eclipse his 2022 record.
Newey is a massive fan of Verstappen’s and insists that he’s “totally in tune” with the car, something he’s become better at since winning his first title in 2021.
“Max is clearly one of the all-time greats and he’s at the top of his game,” Newey told Autosport.
“Since he won the championship in ’21 I think that took a took a lot of pressure off himself, and his driving has got a lot better for that.
“He’s totally in tune. The thing about Max, like all the real greats, is that you have the impression he almost drives the car on automatic, which leaves plenty of processing power to think about everything.”
To receive that sort of praise from Newey highlights how special the Dutch driver is, who is winning for fun currently.
Most of his victories have come by over 20 seconds this year, with him being virtually unstoppable.
Despite this, he seemingly isn’t bothered by any accolades, as he’s focused purely on just doing his utmost.
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“Everyone, of course, has their own opinion about these kinds of things,” Verstappen said.
“But you know, for me, I’m not in F1 to try and prove that I belong between other people’s names who are the greats in the sport.
“I’m just here to try and do the best I can, and try to win as much as I can when I have the opportunity.