Despite the controversial circumstances in which Max Verstappen ‘won’ the 2021 championship, it cannot be argued that the way he drove in 2021, he deserved anything but the title. The Red Bull driver showed his brilliance on so many occasions that he graduated from ‘one of the stars’ to ‘the star’ in the sport.

Of course, this meant his rival, Lewis Hamilton, found himself relegated to the second-best position, something he hasn’t faced much for most of his career. The way Verstappen performed throughout the 22 races, it won’t be wrong to say he eclipsed the seven-time world champion in almost all aspects.

This recently led to his team’s advisor, Dr. Helmut Marko, making a bold claim about one key aspect of his driving – qualifying. “It’s clear to us that there is currently no driver who can stand up to Verstappen in qualifying,” said Marko.

Is Max Verstappen better than Lewis Hamilton in qualifying?

Who can forget Max Verstappen’s flying lap in Saudi Arabia, which was almost the lap of the century? If one ever needs to explain to anyone how good Verstappen is in qualifying, that lap alone will suffice.

However, that lap, or for that matter, the 2021 season, isn’t enough proof to even put it against Lewis Hamilton’s insane qualifying record.

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For starters, the Briton has 103 poles in his career, the most in history compared to the Dutchman’s 13 poles. But this is an unfair comparison too because Verstappen’s career is only five-years-old while Hamilton has been a main fixture in F1 for 15 seasons.

So let’s take a look at Hamilton’s pole positions since Verstappen made his debut.

Since Max Verstappen’s Toro Rosso debut in Australia, the Mercedes driver has had 64 pole positions. Also, while Verstappen’s first pole position in Hungary in 2019 came after 92 races, Hamilton’s first pole position came after five races into his career.

So with all things considered, Helmut Marko’s claim about Max Verstappen being the best in qualifying currently based on one season’s worth of performances, however great, aren’t good enough for him to have that title.

Perhaps he could have that in the future. But looking at Hamilton’s insane career, even that may not be possible, at least statistically in a sport driven by statistics.

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