Outside Line: Of Verstappen, Haaland, Wembanyama and the Springboks
F1 NewsThursday, 13 November 2025 at 09:00
I am in a very happy place at the moment, especially when it comes to sport, and even more so when it comes to my sports. In order, they are Formula 1, football (aka soccer), basketball and rugby.
Apart from Formula 1, which readers know about, I am very much into a few other sports, of which I have watched enough to understand, appreciate and enjoy. A fan, I have also photographed them, at the highest level too, and happy to say I know these sports relatively well.
That privilege came from my profession as a photographer, which has allowed me to see the greats up close, to feel their energy through the lens. And mostly, these days, following their escapades on TV or YouTube
And right now, I feel the stars have aligned. Because I cannot remember another time when every one of my sports has been led by a generational talent, each one rewriting the record books before our eyes.
Erling Haaland: The Viking rewriting football
Let’s start with Erling Haaland, the Manchester City Viking. He is a pure joy to watch in motion. As big as he is, as heavy as he looks, he is the most lethal striker of the ball I have ever seen.
He is destroying defences, breaking records, and making history almost every week. I watch him whenever I can, even though I am not a City fan. I am an Evertonian, but like Thierry Henry before him, who hypnotised the Premier League, or Eric Cantona or Cristiano Ronaldo before that, Haaland is going to tear through every record that matters.
Haaland is football’s next great force. At 25, he has already scored 103 goals in 111 Premier League games and lifted the 2023 Champions League trophy. His six-foot-four frame, blistering pace, and ice-cold finishing make him unstoppable.
Against Leipzig, his five-goal haul proved his hunger for the biggest stages. Haaland’s power is matched by a ruthless mentality that echoes peak Ronaldo and prime Henry.
With time to refine his link-up play and consistency, he could go beyond both Messi and Ronaldo. Haaland is not following their legacy; he is building his own. His era has begun and unfolds every weekend for us.
Victor Wembanyama: A giant rewriting basketball
And then there is Victor Wembanyama in the NBA. A giant in stature, yes, but also in what he is doing for basketball. He moves like a dancer, smooth, fluid, impossible for someone his size. Watching him play is jaw dropping. His numbers defy logic. His skill set defies biology.
He is another one who comes along once in a lifetime. People are already calling him the greatest of all time. Some even believe he already is.
Wembanyama is changing what basketball means. At 2.24 metres tall, he moves like a guard, handles the ball like a point, and shoots like a wing. His blend of size, skill, and intelligence is something the game has never seen.
At just 21, the Frenchman averages 24.5 points, 10.4 rebounds, and leads the league with 3.6 blocks per game. He protects the rim, commands the floor, and carries himself with calm humility.
If he stays healthy, Wemby’s evolution will not just rival Jordan, LeBron, or Kareem — it could surpass them. He is basketball’s future unfolding in real time.
Max Verstappen: The alien among us
It sounds familiar, does it not? Of course it does. Because Formula 1 has its own generational phenomenon in Max Verstappen. Readers familiar with this site know that we are on GRANDPRIX247, a major Verstappen fans simply because he is the best race driver in the world.
Ask anyone, including the 19 other guys who line up on the grid every GP weekend to take on Max. We are watching him in real time, doing things few could imagine possible. Every session, every race, he finds new layers of brilliance. What he did in São Paulo was not human. It was alien.
Verstappen’s path to becoming Formula 1’s greatest is paved with genius. At 28, he is a four-time Formula 1 world champion with 63 wins and 104 podiums, a record built on precision, aggression, and pure instinct. No teammate has come close, even more so of late as he simply keeps on getting better.
Verstappen thrives where others falter. He extracts performance from any car with an unrelenting hunger to win. The Dutch ace is chasing history. Seven titles may not be the ceiling. He is rewriting Formula 1’s limits.
Rassie’s Springboks: A generational team
And then there is rugby. I admit I had switched off from the game for more than a decade. But recently, with time in my hands, I went back. I watched everything from the 2022 season onward. The juniors, the seniors, the Springboks. I watched how they prepped and won that World Cup by a single point in France.
And then last week, I saw them crush the same French side with 14 men in Paris. It was one of the most gallant, emotional, courageous performances I have ever seen in sport. I found myself close to tears. That team is a generational talent.
Rassie Erasmus may well be the greatest coach in the history of rugby. He has taken the sport apart and put it back together in a new way. He uses every law, every detail, every psychological angle to extract the absolute maximum from his players. The Springboks are rewriting rugby itself.
If you watch their World Cup documentaries, you see how that machine operates. You see how Rassie and his staff forged unity, discipline and belief. It is a legend in the making.
Back-to-back Rugby World Cup champions in 2019 and 2023, and four-time winners overall, they have crushed all before them. Consecutive Rugby Championship titles, a Freedom Cup sweep, and an 84.6% win rate in 2024, capped by a 43-10 demolition of New Zealand in Wellington, speak volumes.
Cherish it while it lasts
The famed "Boks Bomb Squad" redefined impact rugby, combining brute power with tactical brilliance. Under Erasmus, the greatest coach of his era, many reckon, the Boks have turned humility into domination. This is not just a team. It is South Africa’s greatest sporting creation. A generational talent.
And that is the beauty of it all. This wonderment on tap just about every weekend is the finest tonic to forget the issues that are plaguing our world. Take refuge in greatness. Soon, when this season is over there won't be Max to mesmerise and entertain.
If you are unfamiliar with any of the above names, get on YouTube and do some 'receipt' checking, you won't regret watching. And it may fill the void nicely, while winter interrupts our seasons.
Every weekend now, we are witnessing greatness across sport. We are living through an era when generational athletes are not just breaking records, they are redefining their sports entirely. Live!
I cannot wait for each weekend to roll around. To watch, to celebrate, to marvel. Because this alignment of collective sporting brilliance - Verstappen, Wembanyama, Haaland and the Boks - does not happen often in one lifetime. Cherish it while it lasts.
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