Jenson Button has suggested Max Verstappen is the fastest driver ever to have competed in Formula 1.
There’s no doubt the Dutchman has made a big impression on the sport ever since his first outing in an F1 car as a 17-year-old in 2014.
He enjoyed a rapid rise to Red Bull partway through 2016 and has won seven races since but his potential is still somewhat unknown as there have only been glimpses of Verstappen going up against the likes of Lewis Hamilton.
That didn’t stop Button from perhaps putting him above the likes of Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher with his bold claim, however.
“I think he is the fastest driver that has ever driven an F1 car. I really do,” Button told British radio station talkSPORT. “I think he is unbelievably fast.
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“Previously to this year he has made some mistakes as you would expect from a young driver but now he’s doing such a fantastic job.
“I really do think he is something special.”
Verstappen’s problem has been Red Bull’s inability to consistently match Mercedes and Ferrari and, despite a strong mid-season which saw two wins, the 22-year-old doesn’t have high hopes for the rest of 2019.
“I don’t think there’s one track left this season where we can do a particularly good job,” he said at a Tag Heuer event in Amsterdam.
“If we can just finish close to the podium or on the podium every weekend, then I think that’s the maximum for us at the moment.”
And while he is hopeful that 2020 can finally see a first F1 title challenge, Max admits Red Bull must learn from past mistakes.
“That depends on how you start a season, of course. The last few years we’ve clearly not been strong enough,” he commented.
“But I hope that next year we can take a step so we can fight for the championship, at the moment it’s difficult to say [if we can].
“We already know what we’re going to get from Honda at the start of next year, so that’s good.
“Then we still need to know where we made mistakes, this year as well. We hope to have these fixed for next year, of course.”