Why Guenther Steiner feels Max Verstappen will be ‘remembered longer’ than Sebastian Vettel after retiring

Max Verstappen put his name among the elite of Formula 1 by claiming his fourth consecutive world championship at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The Dutchman looked to continue his dominance in 2023 – where he won 19 out of 22 races – by winning seven of the opening 10 Grand Prix. But after the Spanish Grand Prix, Red Bull suffered a huge dip in performance with the RB20 as their rivals began to close the gap.

Despite a charge from McLaren and Lando Norris, Verstappen did what was required and put his car in consistent points finishes. His stunning victory at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix from 17th put the title out of reach, sealing the deal in Las Vegas.

Verstappen is only the sixth driver in F1 history to win four titles. Christian Horner has never seen Verstappen’s ability from ‘any other driver’ as the Dutchman continues to display the incredible racing intelligence that he has shown since he joined Red Bull back in 2016.

By winning four titles in a row, Verstappen has matched the feat achieved by former Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel, who won his championships with the team from 2010 to 2013.

Guenther Steiner thinks Max Verstappen will be remembered longer than Sebastian Vettel for his ‘attitude to racing’

The German utterly dominated the turbo hybrid era in the early 2010s. Vettel beat out Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in dramatic title battles in 2010 and 2012, while 2011 and 2013 were completely controlled by the Red Bull driver.

With his four titles, as well as 53 career wins and 122 podiums, Vettel is among the greats in the sport and has an incredible legacy that will not be forgotten easily. But for Guenther Steiner, after repeating the German’s success this season, Verstappen will be ‘remembered longer’ as he is a ‘sheer racer’.

“I think Max, his attitude to racing, he will be remembered longer. He’s less methodical, he’s just a sheer racer. His personality and everything,” he told The Red Flags Podcast.

“But performance-wise, it puts him at the same level as Vettel. Vettel won four championships, he won four.

“I don’t know where Max is going next after Red Bull if he stays there forever. But you achieve the next step when you’re world champion for more than one team. That is the next step and not many have done that.”

Max Verstappen sees an eighth title as his ‘ultimate goal’ in F1

Verstappen’s fourth world title puts him level with Vettel and Alain Prost in the history books, with Juan Manuel Fangio sat just above the trio with five.

Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton set the benchmark of seven world titles each, and the Dutchman is looking to beat that record.

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Verstappen sees an eighth title as his ‘ultimate goal’ in F1 and at just 27 years old, he has plenty of time to achieve that target.

The question is whether the Dutchman will be at Red Bull when, or if, he wins that eighth title. Verstappen has been linked with a move away from the Milton Keynes-based squad after several key figures have left the team throughout the year.

Jos Verstappen demands Red Bull to have competitive engines in 2026 if his son is to stay with the team beyond next season, adding more fuel to the fire that the Dutchman truly could leave the defending champions in the near future.