The most iconic rivalry of our times was witnessed in complete glory in 2021 when Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen battled it out to the last lap for the title decider. The clouds of supposed unfairness of Abu Dhabi, 2021, still hovered over last year. And while even the team, Mercedes, who was at the losing end of things, didn’t want to sound like a broken record, a few, including journalists and onlookers, were still sour over it. This included Sky Sports’ pitlane journalist, Ted Kravitz. While the said Red Bull boycott of Sky Sports is in the past, now another one from the Sky clan has emerged but has pulled a move of a turncoat, trying to shift the blame on the fans for not accepting Max Verstappen’s greatness.

While Hamilton has entered his 17th season, Verstappen still stays in the single digits and is way behind in statistical data. However, with the sheer dominance Verstappen has showcased in the past season and this year’s season opener, he has been smashing records, and for this very reason; the pundits have already put him in the most prestigious category, next to that Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna. Sky Sports F1 expert Karun Chandhok believes that even though it is unfair to compare the reigning double-world champion with all times great, it is not wrong either.

As quoted by givemesport.com, Chandhok said, “I think it’s unfair to try and rank a driver in a list of all-time greats when they’re still currently driving but I mean, in terms of outright talented drivers to have driven a Formula One car, I think he’s in the Clark, Senna, Schumacher, Hamilton category,”

He said, “It’s very hard to say where they rank among the all-time greats because then you have to define a sign of greatness. You could argue Gilles Villeneuve was one of the most talented drivers ever. Did he manage his career in the best way? Did he manage his overall being as a racing driver as well as Niki Lauda? He didn’t. And that’s why he didn’t win three World Championships, whereas Niki did, but Niki wasn’t as fast. So there are so many complexities to that sort of ranking. There’s no doubt in my mind that Max is certainly one of the top 10 most talented, though.”

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While the data already tilts in favor of the Dutchman trumping, another sleeping giant now stands resurrected.

Fernando Alonso might trump Max Verstappen

Fernando Alonso showed a masterclass drive in Bahrain and his ‘lovely car’ Aston Martin put them ahead of Ferrari and Mercedes. And while it is being said that Bahrain was just a warm-up and the genuine power will be unleashed in the upcoming Saudi Arabian GP. And Naomi Schiff has ranked Alonso above both Verstappen and Hamilton.

According to PlanetF1.com, Schiff said, “I think Fernando might just trump them in the sense that he’s so much more mature. He’s been in it for so long. I think even last year, we could see it in the Alpine and that there were moments that he was just extracting the absolute maximum out of their car. He’s the kind of the guy that you wouldn’t want to play chess with, because he’s always three steps ahead”

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What are your predictions for the battle between the two double-world champions?