Ex-F1 Champion Exposes Reason That Makes Max Verstappen ‘Stand Out’

Jacques Villeneuve hinted that a lack of competition makes Max Verstappen appear as a generational talent.

Ex-F1 Champion Exposes Reason That Makes Max Verstappen ‘Stand Out’

Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)

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Max Verstappen is seen as the generational talent of Formula 1’s current era. The Dutch driver dominated the sport in recent years with four championships in a row. Moreover, when Verstappen is in his zone, it appears that no driver can even close to the Red Bull star. However, former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve has now explained the real reason why the 27-year-old is considered the best on the current grid.

Since Verstappen made his debut in 2015, he has impressed the entire F1 paddock. This earned him a promotion to Red Bull in 2016. Max Verstappen has not looked back since. Even in 2025 when Red Bull is struggling with performance issues, the reigning world champion has pushed the RB21 to the limit and bagged two victories.

Jacques Villeneuve pointed out that during the era of drivers like Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, there were several drivers like Max Verstappen that entered the sport every year. However, in the modern era, it appears that the Red Bull driver is the only one of that caliber. Villeneuve insisted that F1 has a host of decent drivers even today, but it used to have many more great drivers in the past.

If you look at the past, in Ayrton Senna and [Alain] Prost’s era, you had five drivers like Max [Verstappen] every year Now you only have Max, so the playing field is… now there’s a lot of good drivers, where before there were a few extremely good drivers and a bunch of good drivers. So,  think the whole scheme has changed.

Jacques Villeneuve told RacingNews365

The former world champion insisted that Max Verstappen was not that incredible when compared to the all-time greats of the past. Though, what set the Dutchman apart was the fact that he remains in a league of his own as a pure bred racer. According to Villeneuve, this is what makes the difference today.

Max is not better than the very good ones of the past. He’s alone right now, so he stands out. He makes the difference. He is a pure racer, and there’s not many of them anymore.

Jacques Villeneuve added

Jacques Villeneuve pinpoints F1’s ‘acceptable problem’ amid Max Verstappen debate

Villeneuve’s comments might seem to discredit what Max Verstappen has achieved at the pinnacle of motorsport. However, the Canadian aimed to highlight a bigger problem for the sport.

Liam Lawson and Max Verstappen (Via Red Bull)
Liam Lawson and Max Verstappen (Via Red Bull)

Villeneuve reckoned that today even average drivers are able to appear acceptable against the best in the business courtesy of stable cars. Nowadays, it is acceptable to have a second driver be half a second behind their teammate. Max Verstappen’s Red Bull teammates since 2019 have suffered such a fate. No driver at Milton Keynes has even come close to matching Verstappen. But in the past, this gap would usually be a couple of seconds, simply due to the characteristics of older F1 machinery.

Right now, an average driver can look acceptable. If you look at the past, an average driver would be two seconds off the pace, the way the cars were. Now, an average driver will be half a second [behind]. Okay, that’s acceptable, but you meant less difference. Because of the way the cars are driven, they’re very stable cars.

Jacques Villeneuve explained

Certainly, Formula 1 has evolved as a sport over the years. While Max Verstappen is undoubtedly the best of his generation, his records cannot be discredited due to a lack of better competition. After all, the Dutchman continues to push to the limit no matter the situation. Nevertheless, Verstappen is facing an uphill battle against McLaren this season.

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