Former NASCAR legend weighs in on Max Verstappen vs Kyle Larson debate

Former NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick shared his take on who among Max Verstappen and Kyle Larson is the best driver in the world. Harvick feels Larson is a more versatile driver than Verstappen.

After Kyle Larson won the Knoxville Nationals race, he told Flo Racing that he;s an overall better driver than Verstappen. He added that the F1 driver wouldn't perform well in Bristol or Chili Bowl. The bold statement sparked a massive debate in the motorsport community, with many drivers giving their opinions.

One of the top drivers who has spoken about the Verstappen-Larson debate was former NASCAR champion Kevin Harvick. On his Happy Hour podcast on the NASCAR Fox YouTube channel on August 20, he said that Larson could be as fast as Verstappen in an F1 car.

However, he added that the same cannot be said if the Red Bull F1 driver races with the Hendrick Motorsports driver in a stock car.

"The thing I can tell you is that if Kyle Larson went to drive Max Verstappen’s car, in one or two days, he’d be damn close to being as fast as Max Verstappen, but there is no way Max Verstappen comes over here and does that in a stock car," Harvick said at 52:43

Although Harvick praised both Verstappen and Larson, he reckons that Larson has a grip on more disciplines than the three-time F1 world champion.

"Max is extremely talented and very, very, very good at what he does for his discipline, and I heard him talk about drivers being specialised in their discipline, but that is not Kyle Larson.

"Kyle Larson can go out and drive anything, he is very good at his discipline, but he has got multiple disciplines, and we saw what he did in an IndyCar. I truly believe that Max would do okay, but he’s not going to do anything close to what Kyle Larson does," he concluded.

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When Max Verstappen gave his take on the best driver debate before Kyle Larson's comments

Before Kyle Larson claimed that he's a better driver than Max Verstappen, the Dutchman had fiven his opinion on the entire 'best driver' debate.

Speaking to motorsport content creator, Ashley Kalita, at the 2024 Barcelona GP, the Dutchman explained that the debate shouldn't take place, particularly because every driver is great in their own way and discipline.

He added that good drivers have the ability to pick up the racecraft of different motorsport series quicker than others.

"Honestly, I think I should first say we should not have that debate. Cause everyone is good in their own right.

"I would not be good in dirt. Maybe if I would practice? I don't know. Because I think at the end of the day, good racing drivers pick up things quite quickly," Verstappen said.

The Red Bull driver leads the table in 2024 but is facing stern competition from the likes of Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.