Verstappen hailed as greatest on the grid by former Ferrari world champion

The former Scuderia Ferrari driver, who called time on his career following the conclusion of the 2021 campaign, lauded Verstappen as a ‘phenomenon’ in his assessment of the Red Bull Racing star. Raikkonen, who sat in on a recent interview, highlighted how, after seeing Verstappen win his first race in 2016, where he came second, he realised the Dutch driver was the real deal.

Asked in a recent interview with Italian outlet Quotidiano Sportivo about whom in the present he considers to be the strongest driver on the track, irrespective of the prowess of the car they drive, he responded: “Verstappen! I saw him arrive in F1 during my second stint at Ferrari. Max is a phenomenon. He won his first race in Spain right in front of me, ten years ago. That’s when I realised a star was born.”

The 2016 Spanish Grand Prix proved to be the perfect unveiling of the talent Verstappen possesses, with the then 18-year-old claiming his maiden victory in the sport. Verstappen fended off challenges from Raikkonen and his Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel to hold on to first place and clinch the win, helped in part by the collision between the two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in Barcelona.

Even more special, the win at the Circuit de Catalunya was the fact that it was his maiden race with the Red Bull Racing outfit after he was promoted to replace Daniil Kvyat, who had endured a challenging start to the 2016 campaign.

Helmut Marko, recently recounting the incidents surrounding promoting a young Verstappen to the Red Bull outfit, noted the palpable scepticism and doubts he faced from then team principal, Christian Horner.

At the time in 2016, Verstappen was still seen as a hugely promising young talent, but without the level of maturity he is known for today. However, amid the lingering doubts, Marko, who served as advisor to the Milton Keynes outfit, decided to promote him to the senior team at just 18 years old alongside the far more experienced Daniel Ricciardo, who at the time had firmly established himself as the team’s undisputed lead driver through his results on track.

Speaking to De Telegraaf, Marko revealed Carlos Sainz was left deeply disappointed after Red Bull decided against promoting him alongside Ricciardo, with the Austrian insisting the team had no doubts over choosing Verstappen instead. He also admitted Horner was initially against handing Verstappen a Red Bull seat after just four races in the 2016 season, believing the Dutchman was still too inexperienced for such a major step so early in his career.

Today, the Dutchman is regarded as one of the greatest and most successful drivers in modern Formula 1 history, with the numbers backing it up: four world titles, with a fifth slipping away by just a handful of points last year, along with 71 wins, 128 podiums and 48 pole positions to his name at just 28 years old.

Adding to the chorus of glowing admiration for Verstappen is four-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou, who recently noted Verstappen would be looked back on in 10 years and called the best driver ever. The Chip Ganassi driver compared Verstappen to Michael Schumacher, whom he admitted to adoring while growing up, before highlighting the impressive feat and stating Verstappen continues to put up particularly strong performances off the back of his 2025 season.