Can Max Verstappen become F1’s G.O.A.T?
Max Verstappen is taking the F1 world by storm. The dominant Dutchman continued his relentless run through F1 last year, rewriting the record books and adding more history to his long list of milestones. At just 25-years-old he already holds the record for the sport’s youngest driver, winner and podium finisher and is set to make more in 2023. Last year Verstappen smashed the record for most wins in a single campaign on his way to retaining his world title claiming victory in 15 out of the 22 races - including nine of the last 11 - to surpass the previous benchmark of 13, which was held by the legendary Michael Schumacher and former Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel.
On top of that, he also scored the most points in an F1 season with a gargantuan haul of 454 once everyone was said and done. The enormous tally also handed him the second largest winning margin ever recorded of 146 points to second-placed Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ championship. With stats like these it’s easy to forget that the young driver endured a tricky start to the 2022 season, falling streaks behind then title rival Leclerc with a 46 point gap to claw back which he did in emphatic fashion. There’s no doubt that Verstappen has been in a class of his own round the track the past two seasons, but can he stay on course and become the greatest of all time?
When a young Max aged only 17 years and 166 days lined up alongside teammate Carlos Sainz at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix to become the youngest driver to start a World Championship race, the driving world knew they had a new star on their hands. It only took two races for the teenager to notch up his first points in a World Championship and he’s been drawing eyes ever since. Due to the rising popularity of F1 figures on social media and the success of Drive to Survive, Verstappen’s rise to the top of the sport has coincided with a boom in viewing figures in F1. But to lay claim to the moniker of G.O.A.T you have to establish yourself as unquestionably the best of your era and Mad Max is well on his way to doing that.
After his most impressive season to date, Verstappen finds himself on pace to break the all-time records for most wins and world championship titles and the nature of his win last year shows just how versatile a driver he can be. Ferrari dominated qualifying last season, meaning Verstappen only managed to take pole seven times all year, but it didn’t phase him a bit. He won races from seven different grid positions (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th, 10th and even 14th), and collected nine wins when not on pole, one more than Hamilton’s previous best tally of eight in 2019. Verstappen’s recent run of form has pushed him to sixth in the all-time record books for wins with 37 grand prix victories with practically his whole career ahead of him. The driver has set the standard the last two years by which others are judged, but the question is whether he can maintain the success of his early career to establish himself as the best to ever do it.
Taking a look at some of his competition, it looks like there is still a long way to go. After all, Lewis Hamilton’s benchmark of 103 of Grand Prix wins will likely be added to before the Brit hangs up his driving gloves. He is five titles shy of matching his great rival Hamilton and legendary German Schumacher’s joint-record of seven world championships with Hamilton still aiming to stand alone atop the F1 world in the latter stages of his career. But if we were to take things as they are and presume Max maintains his grip on the sport, it is not outside the realm of possibility that the Dutchman could chase that down. Verstappen would need five wins a season over the course of the next 13 years to reach Hamilton’s 103 wins in the time the Brit accrued that tally. Considering the fact that 25 of Verstappen’s 37 wins came in the last two years, it not only seems possible but almost a dead certainty if the Dutchman keeps going at this rate. But in that comes the key factors in all of this, longevity and consistency.
The reason Hamilton and Schumacher are considered in a class of their own is because of their ability to outlast the competition. The Red Baron took the sport to a new level of worldwide acclaim and achieved heights the likes of which many thought to be untouchable before the Brit embarked on a 16-year career that threatened to go above and beyond that of his iconic predecessor. The two were able to achieve this in large part thanks to having a competitive car and in that respect Verstappen is in good shape. Red Bull’s RB18 won all but five races last year and positions the team in great shape for another constructor and driver’s championship this season. In terms of consistency, the dominant spells of Schumacher, Hamilton and Vettel tell you, there is no guarantee success will last.
The Orange Army follows Verstappen all over the world
Vettel won four world titles in a row but failed to claim a fifth in the following nine years, Hamilton won his first in 2008 but was made to wait six years for his second, and Schumacher won his last in 2004 off the back of his most successful season but could only muster a single win the following year. Age is on the Dutchman’s side though; obvious to say but the more time he has, the better chance he stands of becoming the greatest of all time. However, admitting in the aftermath of the 2021 season, he said the stresses of fighting off Hamilton at the death was one of the worst feelings he had endured. It prompted speculation that he could in fact retire in his early 30s to pursue other interests. Longevity will be the biggest hurdle to clear and after revealing that he would only stick around as long as he enjoys F1, it seems only logical to conclude that while he has all the credentials to become the G.O.A.T, should he face a similarly tough challenge as he did in 2021 at any stage from this point onwards, then perhaps the Dutchman is not destined for greatness after all.
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The short answer to your question is NO. Not while he stays with one car which dominates the rest of the field.
Sure, Max is a great driver, however, his dominance is due to the car, as it was with Hamilton and Schumacher.
When you talk about anyone being the G.O.A.T. you need to compare their achievements with drivers such as Fangio, Ascari, Clark, Graham Hill, Senna, Prost, et al. Those drivers were able to win in different makes of cars and different categories of motor sport.
When and if Max can continue winning in different cars he would become a contender to be considered as G.O.A.T. At the moment his achievements have come in only one category with the most dominant car! In the right place at the right time!
At long last someone who knows what he's talking about,, we'll said Smokie IMHO I don't think Max will stay the course to become 7 times world champion & as you say if f1 drivers were swapped around every 2 years that would reduce their egoes, give other drivers a chance & & & maybe make it more exciting a big plus sir Lulu wouldn't have to worry about his records being broken would he,, Bless. 😜
Its very difficult , and far be it from me to defend Hannah , but if Senna's a goat he won one championship before moving to f1 and so did Prost , i hate to say it but so did Lucy .For me why Max is special is he was 17yr when he entered f1,and ok crashstappen but come on 17yr......... that's impressive
Just to clarify my thoughts, Shroppy, Senna had the ability to achieve good results with middle of the grid cars. Who can forget 1984 Monaco when he drove the Toleman into second place behind Prost! He took the then rather average Lotus to wins and podiums. Then of course he went to McLaren to win his 3 WDC's. My point with Senna, and also Prost, is that they were always very competitive in different cars, not just one!
As for Graham Hill, he is (to the best of my knowledge) the only driver to win the triple crown ~ WDC (twice), Le Mans 24 Hour, Indy 500. Jim Clark won not only in F1, but also won the BTCC championship in 1964 while competing in F1 at the same time! Unfortunately, the way things are now with contracts, we don't see that any more where drivers can race simultaneously in different categories.
I believe Fangio's and Ascari's achievements speak for themselves, with their ability to win in anything they sat in!
Max's career is far from over, so if Max can display more versatility in the future then he may well reach that highly esteemed group with G.O.A.T. status.
Another driver for the future is Oscar Piastri ~ winning three different championships in 3 consecutive years! Maybe a future candidate for G.O.A.T. consideration.
I agree with everything you're trying to portray, it should not be forgotten that it was Hamilton's fans that christened him " The Goat" starting off this whole discussion , the fools that they are
Well you being his secret no1 fan only have yourself to blame.🤡
Great talent, great potential, but a long way off being a true great yet either on quantity or quality. Sorry but I think we may have already seen his lucky best. Fangio and Clark for me and Hamilton for his fights down to the wire in equal cars. Max and others have felt the stress Lewis can apply.
Hamilton should never have been mentioned as the G.O.A.T. His only competition was his team mate driving the same car. He is not in the same class as Clark, Schumacher, Senna, Prost.
I love Susan's comments
She tells it as it is
Miss Lucille is indeed a goat but of the bearded type
Fangio is the only true G.O.A.T
F1, the sport for der brains.
Constructors is the only one that means anything, oh, and Cars don't cheat....
To me, Prost is the master. Fitness has improved across the grid since his time, but he was always supremely fit, and his cycling results prove that. He was the best driver of his time, and, I'm quite sure one who had everything to compete at the pointy end of fitness and professionalism.
The question I ask myself is how Schumacher compares. While his competition didn't seem as stiff, he deliberately spent years of his career developing the car at Ferrari. This is something he also did at Benetton and Mercedes. Has there been another driver like him? When he didn't have the best car he put up a decent fight against competent opponents, even when they had a much superior car. It would be frightening to think of what F1 would have been like from 1994 to 2004 had he always sought the best car like pretty much every other driver. He has 7 world championships but he wasn't in F1 to maximise this one figure.
Prost's story is too long to tell. Both Schumacher and Prost have astonishing records when it comes to fastest laps.
Max has time on his side. Can he be the best ever? Can the driver even make as much of a difference to car setup and development any more? If they can't then this means that all that is important is to be a supremely fast, consistent driver. I don't think Lewis gets a look in when these discussions arise, but if being supremely fast and consistent is all the driver can be these days, he couldn't have done much better. Perhaps he would have been better served had the other teams been competitive. If he was in the next fastest car for all those years, he'd only have one or two world championships. I think Max can break all the records if he wants. He can win in a car that is second best provided it's still competitive and his opponent isn't as good as he is. To show he's a truly great driver he may have to leave F1. Perhaps that's his plan? Not to have fun necessarily, but to be the best, and not just a super-fast driver who is very consistent - but just the driver.
Max had the chance to prove he could win in the second best car last season but could only do it by cutting corners.
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