F1 drivers are poles apart from normal individuals. The passion for competing with 19 similar uncompromising drivers is definitely tough to replicate. They put in a tremendous amount of hard work and effort in order to be that fraction of a second quicker than their competitors. However, former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone thinks that F1 lacked a pure racer before Max Verstappen came along.

Talking to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Bernie Ecclestone spoke about how F1 fans should be grateful to Verstappen. Ecclestone believes that the Dutchman brought back to F1 what fans wanted – a pure racer.

He stated, “Formula 1 should thank Max Verstappen. Max is a racer. He does what he has to do–he just races. The fans have wanted to see someone like that for a long time.”

Further on he continued on how Max Verstappen has got a resurgence in Dutch interest towards F1. He said, “The Netherlands is so proud of him and everyone is behind him. That’s the sole reason why we are back at Zandvoort.”

The 92-year-old believes Max can break Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton’s record of 7 world titles. While Hamilton has dominated F1 for years, we will have to wait and watch if Verstappen can achieve that level of dominance.

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Though Verstappen had an easier 2022 season, the future may not be as much of a cakewalk. With his rivals at Mercedes and Ferrari aiming to mount a comeback next season, it will be intriguing to see ‘Mad Max’ battling again like in 2021.

Max Verstappen – Evolution through the years

When Max Verstappen debuted on the F1 grid in 2015, many cited him as a generational talent. And so he proved himself to be. Max showed incredible performances at Toro Rosso (now Alpha Tauri) in his rookie year.

Meanwhile, his bosses Helmut Marko and Christian Horner noticed the Dutchman’s budding potential at Red Bull. In a rather impulsive driver swap in 2016, they promoted Verstappen to the senior team. And guess what? The Dutch lion did not disappoint them by winning a pressurizing debut race for Red Bull in Spain.

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Despite the win, he had to prove his consistency and reliability as a driver. While Verstappen earned repute for his audacious racing capabilities, he had several accidents and shunts in his formative years.

Verstappen had several DNFs, and penalties while going over the limit while racing. However, as this period passed on from 2016 to 2018, Max steadily ironed out all these errors to develop as a solid driver.

Since 2019, the Dutchman has won 30 races for Red Bull relative to just 5 in his first 3 seasons. While this also is because Red Bull’s car being one of the fastest in the last two seasons. But Verstappen’s driving has become arguably much better and consistent compared to his pre-2019 driving.

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Many say that Verstappen is perhaps attaining a Schumacher level of consistency. While this can be debatable, 25 wins in 2 seasons are solid evidence to back that. Do you think Verstappen can keep up this level of consistency?