Former F1 driver Stuck: 'Verstappen more dominant as Senna and Lauda'

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Hans-Joachim Stuck: Red Bull and Verstappen are dominant
4 August 2023 at 06:00
Last update 4 August 2023 at 08:52
  • GPblog.com

Former F1 driver Hans-Joachim Stuck has expressed admiration for Max Verstappen's performance. The Red Bull Racing driver is dominating the 2023 season, Stuck agrees. The German tries to put Verstappen's achievements into words in an interview with Eurosport, but he finds it difficult to sum up the unique performance.

Top season for Verstappen

Max Verstappen is having a phenomenal season. With ten wins from twelve races, plus two victories in sprint races, the Dutchman proudly leads Formula 1. The lead over his nearest rival has now risen to 125 points, making a third world title virtually his. Hans-Joachim Stuck also sees this. The German looks at Verstappen as by far the best driver in the field and makes comparisons with legendary names of the past.

"It is difficult to put into words what Verstappen achieves," Stuck begins his eulogy. "When you put your teammate at no less than 20 seconds and the first Ferrari at half a minute, well. That didn't happen even in the days with Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and Niki Lauda, a driver in those days never de-climbed the field like that. Verstappen is certainly one of the most outstanding drivers in the history of Formula 1."

'Car control Verstappen unbelievable'

In addition, Stuck also looks in disbelief at Verstappen's car control. "When you see his overtaking and the consistency of those actions, it's just incredible to see what Verstappen can do with that car. If he [Max Verstappen] had an engineer he couldn't get along with, I think the situation would be different. Right now, the Red Bull-Verstappen combination is the most dominant in the history of Formula 1," the German said.