"He must be getting near the all-time great status": Max Verstappen draws admiration from former McLaren driver

Max Verstappen has drawn admiration from fellow F1 racer and former McLaren charger Kevin Magnussen for having the ability to perform consistently at a very high level. The Dutch driver has taken over the top spot in F1 since 2021 when he dethroned Lewis Hamilton to win his first championship.

Since then, the driver has won the title in the next three seasons with races to spare. However, the 2024 F1 season was a tough one for Verstappen. Red Bull's performance just fell off a cliff and the likes of Ferrari and McLaren overhauled it. Although the driver didn't have the best car under him for most of the season, he would still clinch the title against Lando Norris with a few races to spare.

Talking to Racingnews365 about his fellow racer, Kevin Magnussen admired what Verstappen was doing in his car. The Danish driver, however, pointed out one key thing that sets the Red Bull driver apart from others: something not many drivers can achieve, the ability to consistently perform at a very high level. He said:

"To me, he must be getting near the all time great [status]. I think if you look at his level, I think his top level is maybe not that much better than anyone like Lewis [Hamilton] or, anyone. I think they can reach that sort of level too, I think quite a lot of people can. But he does it every lap of every single race weekend he does.

That is the crazy thing about him, how he's just always on it, he has his best day every day. So it's kind of that what sets him apart."

Max Verstappen's former teammate Alex Albon also gave his take on the Dutch racer.

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Alex Albon claims the 2024 F1 title was the best for Max Verstappen

Alex Albon felt that Max Verstappen's 2024 F1 campaign was the best of his four titles. Talking about how this was the year when his skill was more prominent and he could make a difference, Albon said:

"I think it was his best one. His 2021 year was special but it was a dogfight, whereas this one...it was nice in a way because I felt you could see the skill Max Verstappen has, not just in terms of one-lap performance or whatever, but also race craft, weekend management, all those kind of things.

When you saw the car wasn't quite there, he was still putting away good results, not letting Lando close the gap throughout the year. That, to me, was impressive."

Verstappen would be trying to defend his title this season with Red Bull to emulate Michael Schumacher's feat of winning eight consecutive titles in F1.