Jacques Villeneuve has questioned Jeremy Clarkson’s verdict on Max Verstappen potentially being the greatest Formula 1 driver of all time.
The 1997 F1 champion challenged the 64-year-old after he wrote in his column for The Sun newspaper that the Dutchman “may even be the greatest driver we’ve ever seen”.
In response, Villeneuve attacked the former Top Gear presenter for his view and stated you can’t compare F1 drivers of today with the likes of Juan Manuel Fangio in the 1950s.
“How can Jeremy Clarkson say Max Verstappen is the greatest of all time?” Villeneuve told Grosvenor Sport.
“He had a great season when he beat Lewis [Hamilton] for his first championship.
“Then he’s had the same way that Lewis won his first one.
“Then he’s had easy ones, the same way Lewis had easy ones and this year he’s been fighting back, so this year has been a great year.
“You cannot compare the era of Fangio to now, they are different eras.
“So you cannot say any of them is the greatest of all time, the sport has changed too much.”
Verstappen can match Michael Schumacher’s titles
Verstappen has won the previous three titles and is poised to make that four over the next month as he holds a 62-point lead with three rounds remaining in 2024.
Villeneuve thinks Verstappen can go on aand equal the record for the most F1 Drivers’ titles, currently held by Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher with seven.
“Max Verstappen definitely has what it takes to match Schumacher’s titles,” he added.
“Max is still hungry and competitive and always goes for the win, he doesn’t get brought down.
“With the right situation, he will always be there to win a championship.
“The same way that Alonso could have had seven championships, look how often he got close with Ferrari.
“Take Schumacher, he could have had three instead of seven but he could have had even more.
“Sometimes it’s close and there’s a few drivers out there that don’t have the amount of championships that they probably deserved with their talent.
“Max has won every championship that he could have won, he hasn’t missed one so far.”
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