Max Verstappen is widely regarded as one of the best drivers on the Formula 1 grid, but Jacques Villeneuve does not believe the Red Bull pilot is the greatest of all time.
The 27-year-old has graced the grid since he debuted for Toro Rosso in the 2015 F1 season, while the junior Red Bull team (now called Racing Bulls) were still using their previous name. Verstappen moved up to the senior Red Bull squad in 2016 after a mere 23 Grand Prix starts.
Grand Prix glory even met Verstappen on his debut for Red Bull in the 2016 Spanish GP, and another 64 race wins have followed during his subsequent 199 starts. Verstappen even won the F1 drivers’ championship in 2021, ‘22, ‘23 and ‘24, and boasts 44 pole positions to date.
Verstappen made his 200th Grand Prix start for Red Bull in Hungary this year, yet he penned the Dutchman’s worst penalty-free classified finish for 1,463 days with P9. His plight around the Hungaroring also meant Verstappen failed to earn a podium in four straight Grands Prix.
Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesMax Verstappen would not ‘stand out’ like he does in Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost’s eras
Thanks to F1’s ever-expanding calendar plus the dominance that Red Bull enjoyed across the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons following the reintroduction of ground-effect regulations, just Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher have more Grand Prix wins than Verstappen so far.
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CATEGORYMAX VERSTAPPENAYRTON SENNAALAIN PROSTF1 drivers’ titles42021, ‘22, ‘23, ‘2431988, ‘90, ‘9141985, ‘86, ‘89, ‘93Grand Prix starts2232015-present1611984-19941991980-1993Grand Prix wins6529.15%4125.47%5125.63%Grand Prix poles4419.73%6540.37%3316.42%Grand Prix podiums11752.47%8049.69%10653.27%
But Villeneuve does not believe Verstappen would seem as special if he were racing against Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, as the Brazilian and Frenchman competed in more contested eras than the Dutchman today. Verstappen has won 45 of the 82 Grands Prix since 2022.
Villeneuve told RacingNews365: “If you go back in time, to when guys like Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were racing in Formula 1, you had five drivers like Max Verstappen every year.
“These days, you only have Max in a field of good drivers. Back then, you had a few extremely good drivers and a few good drivers.
“The whole equation has changed in that sense. Max isn’t better than the top drivers of the past. But he’s the only truly good driver in the current field, so he stands out. He makes the difference. He’s a pure racer, and there aren’t many of those anymore.”
Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost would have better stats in Max Verstappen’s era of reliability
Photo by STF/AFP via Getty Images
Some pundits and fans would argue that Verstappen is the greatest F1 driver, having won his first title in a straight fight against seven-time champion Hamilton in 2021. But his successes during 2022, 2023 and 2024 largely came without facing true competition in a dominant car.
Senna and Prost, on the other hand, often went head-to-head for glory. They would also no doubt enjoy far superior stats if they raced in the modern era with longer calendars and far, far fewer reliability problems. Reliability problems are increasingly uncommon in F1 today.
Verstappen has retired due to reliability issues four times over the 104 Grands Prix since the start of 2021. He retired in the 2021 Azerbaijan GP (left-rear tyre blowout), the 2021 Bahrain GP (fuel system), the 2022 Australian GP (fuel leak) and also the 2024 Australian GP (brake).