NASCAR champ Larson reckons he’s ‘better’ than F1’s Verstappen

2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kyle Larson declared that he is a better “all-around driver” than reigning three-time Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen.

Larson is often regarded as the most talented racing driver on American soil and has won 27 NASCAR Cup Series races and one Cup Series Championship, but has accolades and experience in multiple disciplines.

In 2024, Larson made his debut at the Indy 500, competing in the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 on the same weekend after finishing 18th in IndyCar’s blue-riband event.

Larson also won the 2015 Daytona 24 Hours and is adept at gravel Sprint racing, recently winning his third Knoxville Nationals title.

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After his most recent success at the Knoxville Nationals, Larson, when asked by FloRacing if he was a better driver than Verstappen said “I know in my mind I am better than him as an all-around driver.

“There’s no way Verstappen can get into a Sprint Car and win the Knoxville Nationals.

“There’s no way he can go win the Chili Bowl. There’s no way he can go win a Cup race at Bristol.

“There’s probably no way I can go win a Formula 1 race at Monaco, but I think I’d have a better shot doing what he does than him doing what I do just because of the car element.

“That’s what gives me ease and confidence that, like, I know I’m better than him. 

“Maybe not in an open-wheel IndyCar or Formula 1 car, but that’s one discipline. I think I would beat him in everything else. You can quote that.”

Verstappen is widely regarded as one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time, an impressive accolade to hold within the series considered the pinnacle of motorsport.

The Dutchman is the series youngest-ever race winner at 18 years, seven months and 15 days and holds the record for the most wins in a single season (19).

His career to date has been dominated by single-seaters, but he has taken his hand to other disciplines via sim-racing, winning this year’s iRacing Daytona 24 Hours event.

A comparison between Verstappen and Larson on equal terms would be fascinating and the reigning F1 World Champion wouldn’t be the first Grand Prix driver to compete in the same NASCAR Cup Series event as the No.5 Hendrick Motorsports driver.

Kimi Raikkonen, Kamui Kobayashi and Jenson Button have all taken to Cup Series action over the last few years, making a Verstappen appearance not out of the question.