Max Verstappen responded succinctly to NASCAR’s Kyle Larson’s claim that he is the better all-round driver.
Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, is one of America’s fastest drivers, winning the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2015. He also ran strongly at the 2024 Indy 500, finishing 18th. Had it not been for a drive-through penalty for speeding on pit road, he would have been on track for a top-10 finish.
The 32-year-old Californian is also an expert on dirt tracks and won the prestigious Chill Bowl, the sprint car equivalent of the Monaco Grand Prix, in 2020 and 2021.
Now the American has turned his attention to Verstappen and told Flo Racing that he is the better all-round driver of the two.
“That’s fine,” Verstappen responded bluntly to Larson’s comments at the FIA press conference on Thursday. “Everyone thinks in their own way, right?”
In an interview with racing content creator Ashley Vandelay over the weekend of the Spanish GP, Verstappen explained his views on the debate over who is the best racing driver in the world.
“Honestly, I think I should first say that we shouldn’t have this debate,” Verstappen repeated. “Because everyone is good in their own way.”
“I wouldn’t be good in the dirt. Maybe if I was training, I don’t know (where I would be). Because I think a good racer understands things pretty quickly at the end of the day.
“I think, as you know, it all depends on what you grew up with. For me it’s probably go-karting and F1. Those things are more natural for me than racing on sand. I have no idea how to do that at the moment.
“I did a bit of rallying in open fields and stuff and found it really fun. Will I be really good at it? I don’t know, I thought the beginning was a good start but there is so much to learn and you have to learn from the best in this class of racing and that’s the only way you can be really, really good.”
No plans to drive over 200 races
Photo: @redbullracing/X
Verstappen will reach another milestone in his F1 career on Sunday: his 200th GP start. He is the first Dutch driver to achieve this feat.
Since his debut in Melbourne in 2015 with Toro Rosso, the Dutchman has developed from a rookie with occasional flashes of genius to the dominant figure in the sport since 2022.
Verstappen is aiming for his fourth consecutive world title and is currently third on the list of F1’s most successful drivers with 61 wins. The reigning world champion is also part of a select group of five drivers who have won three consecutive world championships.
The Dutchman’s title defence has not been entirely smooth, however. Despite taking seven wins in the first half of 2024, the competition has become significantly tighter. Lando Norris, who narrowly overtook Verstappen in Miami, is 78 points behind him in the drivers’ championship, while Red Bull is just 42 points ahead of McLaren in the constructors’ championship.
“No,” Verstappen said bluntly when asked if he would do 200 more races. “So we’re definitely halfway there, but of course it’s been an incredible ride already. 200, yes.”
“I mean, it doesn’t feel like 200, but of course we’re doing a lot of races a year now, so the number of races is increasing quite quickly.”
Alonso speaks out with a cheeky comment
Photo: @AstonMartinF1/X
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso also took part in the debate at the media day in Zandvoort on Thursday. The Spaniard is one of the best all-rounders in motorsport and has demonstrated his speed in many different types of vehicles.
After winning two F1 world championship titles in 2005 and 2006, Alonso ended his first F1 career in 2018 and switched to sports cars. Driving for Toyota in the World Endurance Championship, he became a two-time WEC champion and won the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans with Toyota in 2018 and 2019.
In 2017, when he was still driving for McLaren, the Spaniard skipped the Monaco GP and instead tried his hand at the Indy 500 in a joint McLaren and Andretti Green car.
Despite having no oval experience, Alonso felt like a fish in water on the brickyard track and was well inside the top ten before his engine gave up on lap 179. He returned to Indy in 2019 but failed to qualify. In 2020, he made it into the race and finished 21st.
Alonso is currently just one win away from becoming the first driver since Graham Hill to win the triple crown: the F1 World Championship, the 500-mile race and Le Mans.
Alonso also took part in the 2020 Dakar Rally, driving a Toyota Hilux and finishing 13th, while fellow countryman Carlos Sainz won the race in a Mini John Cooper Works Buggy.
“I think Max is pretty good in GT racing too, and I bet he’s good at everything, but he’s still not as good as me,” Alonso joked to the media. “You have to adapt very quickly to very different disciplines.”
