F1 News: Bernie Ecclestone on Lewis Hamilton - "Max Is One Of Us, Nobody Is Like Lewis"

"In my list, he is above Lewis Hamilton."

Former F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone believes that Max Verstappen is the best F1 driver ever as the 25-year-old Dutchman is on his way to winning his third driver's title. However, he still remains behind seven-time championship winners Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, who also received praise from Bernie. 

Verstappen leads the 2023 championship by a huge margin. Teammate Sergio Perez in second place is 150 points away from the race leader, making it almost impossible to catch him this season. 

Just recently, Verstappen broke the record for the most consecutive Grand Prix wins after securing his tenth victory in a row in Italy. While Ecclestone seems to have been won over by his achievements, the former F1 boss makes a clear distinction between him and Hamilton. 

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Ecclestone revealed:

 “Max is the best driver ever. No doubts. I used to say Alain Prost. Now I would say Max. He’s the greatest. He is brightest with regards to getting the best out of the car. He doesn’t muck around. He gets right on the programme. In my list he is above Lewis Hamilton.

"Lewis is obviously super-super bright, super-super talented. Lewis understands people and gets the best out of them, whereas Max gets the best out of the car. He’s very different from Max. When Lewis stops racing, he can get into a different world - entertainment or whatever - but that won’t be the way Max could go."

Continuing his distinction between the two drivers and saying how Hamilton is different from the rest, he added:

“I’ll tell you Max is one of us.

"In our sphere of Formula One nobody is like Lewis, nobody is. I think in the early days he was a bit different from other people.

"At school, I was a bit under-sized, so it is a bit different, too. As it was with Lewis. He had his dad’s support.

"When you are a little undersized, or whatever, you have to have a bit to look after yourself. You have to be a fighter, perhaps. You see that a lot in business generally.”