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Max Verstappen has been the flavor of the season and a lot of it has to do with the fact that the driver just does not have a bad weekend. There has been dominance in the past but it has never been this sustained by a team for a while. Heading into the F1 summer break, Verstappen picked up what would be his 45th win.
Not only that, it's almost a certainty now that Verstappen will be a three-time world champion by the time the season ends. At the moment, he seems unbeatable and is arguably scripting the greatest season in F1 in terms of statistics Having said that for nerds like me who wander into the world of "F1Twitter (or should we call it F1X now?), the word 'GOAT' is often thrown around.
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There are many Ayrton Senna fans that call him the GOAT, there are Michael Schumacher fans that do the same and of course, who can forget the crazy volume of Lewis Hamilton fans anointing him the greatest in F1. Recently, another name seems to have popped up and that name is of Max Verstappen.
For all those die-hard fans I do suggest that they need to pump the brakes a little bit but there is certainly a discussion to be had here. Can it be argued that Max Verstappen is a generational talent? No, it can't. Can it then be argued that he has the potential to go down as one of the greatest drivers of all time? He certainly does.
While Verstappen is certainly not the GOAT at the moment, he could end up as one by the time he ends his career. In this feature, I'm going to pick three things that will make the Red Bull driver the greatest of all time.
Disclaimer: I agree that the 'Greatest of all time' is a very subjective concept and the driver that I consider to be the GOAT would not be the same as you do. Hence, take the list with a pinch of salt.
3 things that would make Max Verstappen the GOAT
#1 Beat one of his contemporaries in a competitive title battle
Max Verstappen did beat Lewis Hamilton in 2021 in an intense championship battle and that certainly bolsters his resume. However, what would truly take his resume to the next level if he beat one of the drivers from his generation in a title battle?
One could argue that Charles Leclerc lost to Verstappen last season but let's be fair, it was more of Ferrari beating Charles than anything else.
Verstappen needs to take on at least one of his contemporaries in a competitive setting and beat them. This would solidify an already impressive resume where he would have not only beaten the elite driver from the previous generation as well as his own.
#2 Win at least seven world championships
One can't be considered the GOAT if you have drivers that have been substantially more successful in their careers.
For Max Verstappen to be considered in that rarefied air, he needs to win four more titles after this season (assuming he'll pick up his third title with no trouble whatsoever).
The Dutchman could get that done in the next four seasons or it could take longer but this is the baseline that he has to operate with for sure.
#3 Win a world championship with Ferrari
There is a reason why Michael Schumacher's decade-long stint at Ferrari is held in such high regard.
If we take a look at F1's landscape since 1980, the Italian team has been considered a serious threat for only one specific period. That was a period when the best driver on the grid went to the iconic team in Italy and transformed it into a championship-winning outfit.
From 1996 to 2006, Michael Schumacher led that team and it was a serious contender. You can look at the team 15 years prior (1980-95) or 15 years after his exit (2007-23) and it is a pale shadow of what it was. This is what is called impact and that is the kind of impact that no driver has ever had on any team in F1.
For Max Verstappen to usurp what Michael Schumacher has done in F1, he has to switch teams, defy the odds and win the title with Ferrari. If he can't do that then being considered the GOAT is going to be a hard sell.
