How good is Verstappen himself? 'He wouldn't win in our McLaren car'

Max Verstappen dominates Formula 1 and really seems to be in a class of his own as a driver. Yet Verstappen also owes a lot to his car, the RB19. Andrea Stella argues that Verstappen would not have become world champion in a McLaren.

With 19 wins in 22 Grands Prix, Verstappen was supreme in the 2023 F1 season. Soon, then, talk turns to who was the best driver ever, how Verstappen compares to other greats and whether he could also win in another team's car. To that last question, McLaren's team boss has a clear answer.

What makes Verstappen so good

"Even an excellent driver like Verstappen can only do what the material allows him to do. The combination of Verstappen and Red Bull is faster than we are at the moment. We have to beat them. Red Bull is good enough to make that performance possible. With our car, it is impossible, with any driver in the car, to be as fast as Red Bull in the second part of stints (in the race)," Stella said in a conversation with Auto, Motor, and Sport.

"You have to separate the car from the driver. Where Verstappen makes the difference is that he always performs at an extremely high level, even in the most difficult conditions. In the rain at Zandvoort or when conditions change during Q3 in Brazil. Verstappen shows what that Red Bull can do if you handle it perfectly," the Italian concluded in praise.