Photo: Race Pictures

Villeneuve backs 'genius' Verstappen for 'greatest achievement'

21:21, 23 Sep

Updated: 21:34, 23 Sep

byOlly Darcy

Former F1 driver and world champion Jacques Villeneuve believes that Max Verstappen "can win" the 2025 title and that it would be "his greatest achievement ever".

Max Verstappen took his fourth race win of 2025 in Baku | Photo: Race Pictures

Verstappen is a genius. He’s driving like world champions should.

- Jacques Villeneuve on Max Verstappen's recent performances

The four-time world champion threw himself back into the championship winning disscussion after his Azerbaijan Grand Prix victory made it two wins in a row after his Italian Grand Prix win perviously.

With the Dutchman finding his feet again at the front of the grid, coupled with Oscar Piastri's lap 1 crash in Baku, the gap between the championship leader and the Red Bull driver now sits at 69 points with seven races remaining. That is now a gap that is not too challenging to overhaul, Villeneuve explains.

“Verstappen can win the championship. He is only three races away, and that’s not as much as people think," the Canadian said.

“My only worry is at Singapore. Even when the Red Bull was an incredible car, for some reason, that’s never been a good track for them. That’s the kind of track where they have suffered.

"On the other hand, they weren’t that bad in Zandvoort. So, who knows? This season has been full of surprises. A team that should be good at a track is useless, and vice versa. We keep being surprised. And it’s amazing."

Villeneuve stunned by Verstappen

If Verstappen were to make it a fifth world title, Villeneuve stated how stunning of a result it would be in the worls of Formula 1.

“Verstappen is a genius. He’s driving like world champions should. He’s driving at that level. If you think about the golden days when you had Prost and Senna and Mansell and Piquet, they were all driving like this. Against each other. That’s the level you want in F1. That’s the level you have to show.

“If Max Verstappen wins the World Drivers’ Championship, it’s definitely his greatest achievement ever. This year is definitely above the rest because they were not supposed to be in the hunt. He is easily the best of this generation without question,” concluded the 1997 world champion.

With the current form of Verstappen and the points difference separating the Dutchman and Piastri in the standings, opinions have been divided across the paddock on whether Verstappen can make it five consecutive drivers' titles.

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