Jacques Villeneuve: Max Verstappen not as great as Senna or Prost

Is Max Verstappen 1 of the top Formula 1 drivers of each time? Many would accidental yes, but erstwhile satellite champion Jacques Villeneuve disagreed. According to him, Verstappen is simply a "pure racer", but helium would by nary means overshadow the contention from the epoch of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.

"A axenic racer, but not the champion ever," said Villeneuve, making it wide that the young Dutchman's dominance does not automatically mean fable status.

If fans were asked who is the cleanest operator successful 75 years of Formula 1, the statement would past for hours. Names similar Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark, Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher are ever mentioned arsenic icons of their time. 

Verstappen has already made past - helium made his debut arsenic a teen and won 4 consecutive satellite titles - but Villeneuve is not convinced that this puts him among the implicit greats.

"Today, the mean operator tin look acceptable. In the past, the mean operator would beryllium 2 seconds behind, due to the fact that of the mode the cars were driven. Today, it volition beryllium fractional a second, and that seems okay, but the quality is smaller," explained the Canadian successful an interrogation with RacingNews365. 

He added: 

"They're precise stable, and erstwhile you get into the bushed of the race, you really dilatory down to prevention the tires and power everything. It's conscionable a antithetic benignant of operator and a antithetic car."

Villeneuve shares his views

Villeneuve believes that the precise apical of the drivers utilized to beryllium overmuch denser: 

"If you look astatine the epoch of Senna and Prost, you had 5 drivers similar Max each year. Today you lone person Max. There utilized to beryllium a fewer exceptional drivers and a radical of bully ones. Now you person galore bully ones, but fewer apical ones. The full representation has changed."

When it comes to Verstappen, Villeneuve says: 

"Max is not amended than the champion of the past. He is presently unsocial astatine the top, truthful helium stands retired and makes a difference. He is simply a axenic racer, and determination are not galore of those today."

Finally, the erstwhile champion emphasizes that Verstappen's dominance is partially owed to the deficiency of drivers of the aforesaid class. If determination were much competitors astatine his level, helium believes that Max would person a overmuch harder job. 

As with immoderate treatment of comparing antithetic eras, it is hard to springiness a definitive answer; Formula 1 was changing - the cars became much reliable, the seasons longer, the tracks safer, and the teams enactment with astir subject discipline.