02/10/2023
NEWS STORY
Former F1 supremo, Bernie Ecclestone ranks Max Verstappen higher than Alain Prost, though Lewis Hamilton gets a special mention.
Even before he took the reins of the sport, as a driver manager and even as a driver - though he failed to start the two grands prix he entered - Bernie Ecclestone has witnessed the history of F1 from the outset.
Always a controversial figure, the Briton had previously ranked Alain Prost as his personal GOAT (greatest of all time), but now admits that Max Verstappen has surpassed the French, four-time world champion.
"Max is the best driver ever," he told the Daily Mail. "No doubts.
"I used to say Alain Prost," he added. "Now I would say Max. He's the greatest. He is the brightest with regards to getting the best out of the car. He doesn't muck around, he gets right on the programme. In my list he is above Lewis Hamilton."
Explaining what he sees as the difference between Verstappen and Hamilton, Ecclestone said: "Lewis is obviously super, super bright, super, super talented.
"Lewis understands people and gets the best out of them, whereas Max gets the best out of the car.
"He's very different from Max,” he continued. "When Lewis stops racing, he can get into a different world, entertainment or whatever, but that won't be the way Max could go.
"I tell you, Max is one of us in our sphere of Formula 1, nobody is like Lewis, nobody is."