Bernie Ecclestone believes Max Verstappen remains the best driver in Formula 1, and snubbed all the top Brits on the grid when naming the man he thinks is number two on that list
Britain has a handful of stars shining in Formula 1 these days. But none of them, in the view of the sport’s former supremo Bernie Ecclestone, can claim to be one of the two best drivers on the grid.
As far as the 94-year-old is concerned, one driver stands above all the rest. Even though Red Bull are no longer the dominant force on the grid, Max Verstappen is still the strongest race on the grid as far as Ecclestone is concerned, having seen plenty of supreme talents come and go over the decades.
Close behind Verstappen, in his view, is one of the relatively newer additions to the grid. Oscar Piastri is in just his third season as an F1 driver but currently leads the championship and is locked in a tight fight with team-mate Lando Norris for the title.
Norris is in his seventh year in F1 and has the bigger reputation, while there are also multiple champions still racing like Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. But Ecclestone singled out Piastri as the best of the rest behind Verstappen.
« He simply does his job, » he said of the Australian when speaking on German television. « If he makes mistakes, he knows he made them and does not blame others or make excuses. He ensures he does not repeat those mistakes. He doesn’t make them twice, he is the best driver after Max Verstappen.' »
Piastri certainly has proven to be a tough adversary for Norris. McLaren are clearly the strongest team on the grid this season which has set up a tense fight between their two drivers for individual glory.
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McLaren spent many years languishing in the midfield but began to make positive steps a couple of years ago. Chief executive Zak Brown is their off-track leader, while the American has had to sense to leave performance matters at the feet of Andrea Stella who has excelled as team principal.
And now they are in the envious position of being the dominant force on the grid. Ecclestone is full of praise for the progress the Woking-based squad has made and singled out Brown for praise.
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He said: « You see how lucky these guys are, they are in the right team at the right time. ‘There were certainly drivers who were better than the current ones, but who never had the opportunity to show their qualities to someone.’
« Zak Brown is doing very well. I recently told him, as I have known him for a long time, ‘I don’t think you are very talented, but one of your talents is that you choose the right people to work for you.’ He surrounds himself with the right people and keeps them together. The people at McLaren are doing a good job. »
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