F1 News
Newey impressed: 'Verstappen clearly one of the all-time greats'
- Toby McLuskie
Top designer Adrian Newey is full of praise for Max Verstappen after the Dutch Grand Prix. The Brit is deeply impressed by the Dutchman's performance this season and, despite his young age, already ranks Verstappen among the best Formula 1 drivers of all time.
The legendary Red Bull Racing designer has worked with some big names in the past. For instance, Newey worked with world champions Nigel Mansell, Mika Hakkinen and Sebastian Vettel. However, the technical man is convinced that Verstappen belongs to the 'absolute greats' category.
"You have the impression with Max that he drives on autopilot"
Speaking to Motorsport, Newey explains why. "Max is clearly one of the all-time greats and he's at the top of his game. Since he won the championship in '21 I think that took a lot of pressure off himself, and his driving has got a lot better for that. He's totally in tune. The thing about Max, like all the real greats, is that you have the impression he almost drives the car on automatic, which leaves plenty of processing power to think about everything," the Brit said.
Besides all Verstappen's successes, Red Bull as a team is also having a top season. The Austrian racing stable managed to win all 13 races, something Newey too has never experienced before. He comments on this: "Never in my career have I been associated with a team where we've managed to win the first 13 races. Previously, it's been like the first six or something, but it's nothing like this. The team is obviously working very well together, it's a tribute to everybody kind of really getting on doing their job. But the funny thing is I've been in this position before where you're not consciously doing anything different, it's just everything gels"
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