Max Verstappen is one of the best in F1 (Image credit: Getty)
Red Bull star Max Verstappen has done a lot of things right since breaking into the F1 paddock. The 22-year-old already has eight race victories to his name and finished a fantastic third in the driver’s championship last time around.
Verstappen has been tipped for further greatness in the coming years and former F1 racer Robert Doornbos compared him to Barcelona star Lionel Messi.
The former F1 racer was speaking to Gassan and made the huge comparison (h/t GrandPrix24/7):
“Max Verstappen is the Messi of motorsport. Once in a decade a super talent like Max comes by. Someone who can do so much at such a young age is unique.”
Verstappen might be tipped for greatness but the comparisons with someone like Messi seem a bit far-fetched, for the moment.
Had it not been for Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi would have been seen as possibly the greatest player ever in the history of football.
The Argentine came through the ranks at Barcelona and was already considered a fantastic talent at the age of 17.
Verstappen was also on a similar route during his F1 days but Messi had already achieved greatness at the age of 22.
The Argentine had already won several league titles by then and picked up a couple of Champions League crowns too.
He was becoming the crown jewel at Barcelona and only Ronaldo was the one player that could match his success in the coming years.
Messi also won the Ballon d’Or at this age and was the leading goalscorer in all of Europe’s top leagues in 2009.
The Argentine has continued that form over the years and is a 10-time La Liga winner. He has also won four Champions League titles and many other individual crowns.
Comparing the 22-year-old Messi with Verstappen makes some sense given their talent, but there is another factor that has to be brought up into the equation.
The problem by comparing stars of different sports is that there are way too many factors involved. Racing might be seen as an individual sport while football is a team game, but Messi is a player from a different planet.
He has and can turn things around single-handedly for Barcelona, even if he isn’t surrounded by top talent, something that has happened in recent years.
Barca are still defending La Liga champions and were one step away from reaching the finals of the Champions League last time around.
Verstappen, for his part, needs the best car or at least the second-best one to even challenge for the F1 title.
That is a problem that has plagued F1 for a while where the fastest car wins the title and not the fastest or most talented driver.
Lewis Hamilton is possibly the greatest F1 racer of this generation, but we have never seen him go head-to-head with Verstappen in equally powerful machines.
Verstappen is still an excellent racer and could turn into the Messi of F1 or even greater but he needs a quality car to prove winning titles is possible.
That onus lies on Red Bull and with Verstappen signing a new deal, it will be interesting to see how things go for him in this season.
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