How difficult is it to compare two Formula 1 drivers in different cars or even from different eras? It is quite a bit difficult because there is more than one variable to consider in that equation. However, comparing two teammates is a different game altogether. It’s said that in Formula 1, your teammate is your worst enemy. Especially if he is beating you consistently in the same car. And that’s where Max Verstappen truly shines because he always dominates over his teammates no matter who they are.
And according to Dutch racing pundit, Michael Bleekemolen, Verstappen’s record against his teammates is what makes him rank the reining world champion above everyone else on the current grid. Take Sergio Perez for example. In their very first season together in 2021, Verstappen scored 10 wins and 395.5 season points compared to Checo’s 1 win and 190 season points.
In the 2022 season, the points gap between the two Red Bull teammates decreased to 149, but Verstappen scored 15 wins compared to Checo’s 2 wins. But the 2023 season was by far the worst for Sergio Perez as Verstappen scored more than double the points that Checo scored and scored an impressive 19 wins compared to Checo’s 2 wins. So in their three seasons together, Max Verstappen has won 39 more races than his teammate.
“Max is simply the best and you can always see that very well, that is after the start. Then within a few laps, he is already one or two seconds [ahead],” Bleekemolen said recently while calling Max Verstappen better than everybody else. “And that has nothing to do with the car being better because Perez drives behind him and cannot do that.”
Bleekemolen also believes that Verstappen can win in any car and that no one can beat him in F1 right now. “I don’t see anyone beating Max,” he added. “He just wins because he is better. That is clear. I think if you put him in a Ferrari, he will win races this year. Maybe that [the title] too, because he’s just better.“
Verstappen has won 3 consecutive championships and is well on his way to a fourth title this season. But according to a former champion, something is missing from Verstappen’s glory.
Max Verstappen needs this one thing to make his championships more valuable
While Verstappen’s first championship came after a season-long duel with Lewis Hamilton, four-time champion, Alain Prost believes that the championships in ’22 and ’23 would have been more valuable if he had to fight for them. Prost emphasized the importance of having a competitive battle for the championship, stating, “A championship is worth more to whoever wins it when there is a battle between two or three teams,” he told Sports Illustrated.
According to Prost, Ferrari and Mercedes need to find and support a “real first driver” to challenge Verstappen for the full season. He highlighted Ferrari’s treatment of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz as equals, as well as Mercedes’ approach to Hamilton and George Russell. “Mercedes and Ferrari would have a better chance if, like Red Bull, they found a real first driver and focused more on that,” he added.
Can Max Verstappen equal the record of five consecutive championships in 2025? Or will the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton stop that from happening? Share your thoughts on the matter.
