Max Verstappen told he has the same ‘god-given talent’ as Ayrton Senna by Martin Brundle

Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen has now entered the pantheon of Formula 1’s greatest drivers if he wasn’t already in that conversation.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix has crowned two champions in the past when Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg won the championships in 1981 and 1982.

Both drivers finished 5th when they secured their titles and Max Verstappen continued that trend late on Saturday night in Sin City.

Red Bull lost their advantage over the rest of the field earlier in the year as has been demonstrated by their positions in the Constructors’ Championship.

They have to overturn a 54-point deficit to McLaren in the final two weekends to retain that title, highlighting just how impressive Verstappen has been this year.

Martin Brundle was speaking about Verstappen in the build-up to the race in Las Vegas on Sky Sports F1.

Brundle shared where he ranks Verstappen in F1’s all-time greatest drivers, before making some very flattering comparisons.

Ayrton Senna is an all-time great in Formula 1 but Verstappen has now surpassed his world championship tally and Brundle sees some key similarities between the pair.

Martin Brundle compares Max Verstappen to Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher

Reflecting on the Dutchman’s run of consecutive championship victories, Brundle said: “Great champions have an overdrive gear when the opportunity arises, raising their game to a barely believable level of speed, consistency and focus, both in and out of the car.

“Ayrton Senna had a god-given talent to find extra grip where others simply couldn’t or didn’t even look.

“Max has that too. Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton are two of the most complete drivers I’ve ever seen.

READ MORE: Karun Chandhok makes Ayrton Senna comparison after Max Verstappen ‘masterclass’ in Sao Paulo Grand Prix

“A professional work ethic for motivating a team when out of the car. Strong at car set-up, qualifying, starts, race craft, all weather conditions and track layouts, driving around problems and maximising the difficult days. Max can do that too.

“There’s always a but with Senna and particularly Schumacher for their sporting tactics.

“Verstappen easily has the speed, talent and hindsight to have avoided that, but he chose not to.”

Max Verstappen receives a wealth of congratulations messages from his F1 rivals

Verstappen has caused plenty of controversy throughout his Formula 1 career and the 2024 campaign was no different.

Lando Norris and Verstappen clashed on several occasions, with the Dutchman penalised in Mexico City after Norris was reprimanded for overtaking him outside of track limits in Austin.

That has stopped Norris from congratulating Verstappen on social media after the McLaren driver’s title challenge ended in Las Vegas.

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Lewis Hamilton paid tribute to Verstappen during his interview before heading onto the podium after a magnificent race from the Mercedes driver.

He’ll be hoping he can challenge his old foe more often when he joins Ferrari next year given their consistent rise throughout 2024.

Damon Hill even hailed Verstappen despite their differences of opinion over the course of the year.

The 27-year-old’s genius simply can’t be ignored after conquering the longest campaign in the sport’s history.