‘In terms of natural talent, Max Verstappen is up there with Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher'
There’s no doubt that Max Verstappen is “up there with the absolute best we’ve ever seen” in F1, according to Karun Chandhok.
Verstappen is set to win his third F1 drivers’ championship at this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix.
The Dutchman only needs to finish sixth in the sprint race to come away with the top prize under the lights.
It’s been a remarkable run of form for Verstappen, who has won 28 races since the start of 2022.
Based on this season, Verstappen is set to move into third in the all-time F1 winners list - only Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher will be ahead of him.
Speaking to OLBG, Chandhok, who raced in F1 in 2010 and 2011, believes Verstappen is among the top echelon of driver - naming the likes of Schumacher, Hamilton and Ayrton Senna.
“I think Max is, in terms of natural talent, up there with the absolute best we've ever seen in the sport, along with Ayrton Senna, Jim Clark, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost, he said.
“I'm not a big fan of using stats to tell the story, it's one part of the equation. Clark raced in a dangerous era, won two championships and never had the chance to carry on, Senna, likewise, didn't get the chance to finish the '94 season.
“Max Verstappen is, unquestionably, on his way to becoming one of the all-time greats.
“Across the history of the sport, Ferrari, McLaren, Williams, Mercedes, Red Bull, Lotus, all six of those teams have had periods of dominance and I think Red Bull certainly ranks as one of the top six of all time.”
