Kyle Larson explains why he feels “he's better” than $90M F1 superstar Max Verstappen

Kyle Larson has opined that he is a better driver than three-time reigning F1 champion Max Verstappen. After winning the Knoxville Nationals for the third time on Saturday, the Hendrick Motorsports ace said that he could beat the Dutchman in almost any form of competitive motorsports.

Max Verstappen, who is currently worth $90 million (as per Celebrity Net Worth), has won 51 of the last 80 Formula 1 races. Besides that, the 26-year-old is a two-time recipient of the Best Driver ESPY Awards and has been named the best auto racing driver worldwide by ESPN, a title that was bestowed upon Larson in 2021 when he won the Cup Series.

Furthermore, unlike the Formula 1 star, Kyle Larson is a master of several racing disciplines, including Sprint Cars, Dirt Late Models, Dirt Midgets and, of course, stock cars.

The 32-year-old said that he was better than Verstappen as an all-around driver, adding that the Dutchman could not win races like the Knoxville Nationals.

"I know in my mind I am better than him as an all-around driver," Larson said in an interview with FloRacing. "There’s no way (Verstappen) can get into a Sprint Car and win the Knoxville Nationals. There’s no way he can go win the Chili Bowl. There’s no way he can go win a Cup race at Bristol."

Although Larson said he would probably not win a Formula 1 race at the Monaco Grand Prix, he believes he has a better shot at excelling in what Verstappen does than the latter has in driving stock cars.

"That’s what gives me ease and confidence that, like, I know I’m better than him. Maybe not in an open-wheel IndyCar or Formula 1 car, but that’s one discipline. I think I would beat him in everything else. You can quote that," Larson added.

Besides his repertoire in the arena of Dirt Sprint Cars, Kyle Larson leads the Cup Series field on points. Currently, he sits at the tip of the leaderboard with 779 points to his name. Larson is also the winningest driver this season with his latest win coming at this year's Brickyard 400.

Corey Day joins Knoxville Nationals runner-up Giovanni Scelzi in lauding Kyle Larson

Giovanni Scelzi, who finished P2 in the Nationals, wasn't sure what more he could have done to beat Kyle Larson. Scelzi, a 22-year-old Californian, drives the #18 machine for KCP Racing in the World of Outlaws Nos Energy Drink Sprint Car series. In 2019, Scelzi became the youngest driver (17 years, 8 months) to win an event at Knoxville Raceway.

"I don’t know what it takes to get to that next level. When I get there, I’ll let you know. Just being mentally strong, physically strong, is the key," Scelzi told the reporters. "Obviously, Kyle runs three-to four-hundred-lap races that might not be as physically demanding, but it’s mentally draining for sure to run a stock car that long."

"He’s so good in every discipline, he’s probably the greatest driver ever to live. I don’t think it’s silly saying that. We all know," he added.

Eighteen-year-old Corey Day, who started the 50-lap feature from P11 and finished P3, reiterated Scelzi's comments, saying,

"Like Gio said, I don’t think there’s anyone on the planet better than Kyle Larson in a race car."

Kyle Larson is one of the seven drivers (Steve Kinser, Donny Schatz, Doug Wolfgang, Danny Lasoski, Kenny Weld, and Mark Kinser) to have won three or more Nationals at Knoxville Raceway and one of the five (Mark Kinser, Steve Kinser, Donny Schatz, and Doug Wolfgang) to win three Nationals and a Kings Royal (2021). Moreover, Larson is one of the four drivers (Schatz, Steve Kinser, and Lasoski) to win three titles in four years.