Prost talks nonsense: Verstappen's world titles are actually worth more!
Column
No one doubts that Alain Prost belongs to the select group of the best F1 drivers of all time. Four times the Frenchman became champion in the world's premier motorsport class, and his constant battles with arch-rival Ayrton Senna were legendary. Together, the Frenchman and the late great Brazilian frequently made history. As Max Verstappen does in the present day. But for that, Le Professeur does not give him full credit. Strange, to say the least.
Anyone who hears Alain Prost talk about Formula 1 generally hears sensible things. In a calm, often calculated manner, the Frenchman (69) can usually make precise sense of developments in Formula 1. Not for nothing, was he a valued adviser to the Renault team for many years.
Remarkable interview Prost
Like no other, Prost should be able to judge how exceptional Max Verstappen's current performance is. And indeed, the racing legend praises the Dutchman in an interview with Sports Illustrated. "Max is one of, if not the very best Formula 1 driver today, we have to accept that," he says. But Prost's subsequent addition really does Verstappen no justice: "But a championship is worth more to the winning driver when there is a battle between two or three teams."
It is total nonsense that a Verstappen world title is worth less than - say - Prost's when he beat Senna. On the contrary, Verstappen is so exceptionally good that the current generation of F1 drivers are simply incapable of keeping up with Verstappen. Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver himself can do absolutely nothing about being head and shoulders above the rest.
Verstappen's title in '23 was full of enormous class
Indeed, Verstappen's world title in 2023 may even have been worth more than his first in '21, when he narrowly beat Lewis Hamilton. Of course, it will probably never get more exciting than that year. But the margins were small in '21, the end result could have been just as different had Nicholas Latifi not crashed his car.
Instead, it was much more impressive how Verstappen clinched the championship in '23 with a whopping 290 points ahead of number two Sergio Perez. That year, there was not a bit of luck here or some bad luck there that affected the final standings. No, it was a season in which Verstappen performed fantastically in every race, rising above everything and everyone at every Grand Prix. A season in which he crushed everyone. Forever that record year will be etched in the F1 fan's memory.
The fact the rest could not match Verstappen? That was to the Dutchman's credit!