Rubens Barrichello weighed in on the age-old debate about Formula 1's Greatest Of All Time (GOAT), painting out three he raced against during his time in the top flight - Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Ayrton Senna - plus current World Champion Max Verstappen.
For Brazilian racer Barrichello, who drove for the likes of Jordan, Brawn GP and Ferrari, believes it is a toss-up between the abovementioned trio, while also talking up the talents of Red Bull ace Verstappen.
Barrichello admitted: "It's hard to judge who is better between Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Ayrton Senna. And you're asking a Brazilian if a Brazilian is the best of all time... It's a tough call.
"I've seen the top 20 rankings so many times in magazines. When you find out 33% of people like you, the other 33% don't like you, and the last 33% don't care. To compare Max Verstappen and Schumacher, who were not in the same era, is an incomparable thing.
"Verstappen has absolutely established himself as one of the F1 greats. It's amazing what he's done already. I still race now, I learn from my kids, but I've used the internet to rewatch when Verstappen was world champion with the shifters karts."
Rubens: Verstappen was mega as a youngster in karting
"You could see the potential in his driving already. People can say he had a good kart, but he was mega at that age too. You knew, with healthy mind management, he would make it at the very top," reckons Barrichello.
The 11-time Grand Prix winner also shared his enthusiasm for the current Formula 1 season: "People say McLaren have been very good for the last two years, but if you go deep and check them, this success has been coming for more than five years.
"I have clinical eyes when it comes to F1 because I love racing, the car didn't use to brake very well, and the pitch sensitivity used to be different. McLaren have been up and down, up and down, it's not just happened, it's work developed from the last five years.
"It's difficult to predict, it's a fun season so far. You would give one of the drivers from McLaren a fifty per cent chance of winning the Championship. McLaren have the best car and two great drivers with their speed. It's the first competitive season in a long time.
"I appreciate F1 from every angle, I drove in it for 19 years, but I did have some points where if a race was at 1 am or 2 am, I would just watch the highlights the next day. Now I want to watch it all live," declared 52-year-old Barrichello, who still races in Brazil.
(Quotes by PokerStrategy)
Latest News
Loading
