Fan or not, no one can deny the mega achievements of Max Verstappen in the 2023 season. The record-shattering output from the Dutchman has earned him plenty of plaudits and given him the right to wear his crown and bask in its glory. Even after such a dominating season, Verstappen has managed to stay himself and doesn’t carry an air of arrogance like legends in the past, according to Tom Coronel.

Tom Coronel, Dutch World Touring Car Championship racer, is a huge fan of the Red Bull man and he’s made it evident in many of his past comments. If it wasn’t, he made it evident again during an interview seen on GP Fans’ YouTube page as he compared him to former F1 champions Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel.

Tom Coronel highlights a major difference between Max Verstappen and Michael Schumacher

We all remember the Mad Max persona we used to often see on the track. Which has been limited to radio calls now with his race engineer. However, despite being calmer in the car, the attitude and determination in Dutchman is still alive and kicking. The same attitude every world champion, even if there’s a huge difference in the sport from then to now, shares as their core value to see them on top of everyone else no matter who they’re racing against.

This is exactly what Coronel appreciated in Verstappen but also highlighted only he can carry it and none before him could.

Coronel said, “I think it is really clever and wonderful to see what he does and not only what he does, but also how he deals with it. As a human being, I think he has grown and I can appreciate it and enjoy it because I see that he enjoys, and that somewhat radiates and comes across to the rest.” (Translated via Google) 

When the interviewer pointed out Verstappen is truly himself and stays that way, he added, “Yes, I think that makes him unique in this area. In the time of (Sebastian) Vettel and the time of Schumacher, I found it a bit irritating. Maybe there was a form of arrogance about it. I don’t see that now with Max and I think that’s beautiful, very nice to see.”  

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There might be a tad bit of bias in Coronel’s statement or perhaps he wasn’t a fan of the German world champions, but he likes this attitude of Verstappen. Moreover, Verstappen has just added to his bragging rights after the 2023 season, which makes many believe he will be the first eight-time world champion.

F1 expert believes Max Verstappen can win it all and on eight separate occasions

After the 2023 season, now many are asking the question if Verstappen has the consistency and longevity to become a seven or even eight-time world champion. There is certainly a lot of proof to substantiate this claim after his recent exploits. However, the devil’s in the details, and even in that sector, Verstappen is faultless, making Peter Windsor believe the Dutchman can surely become an eight-time world champion.

Speaking on one of his YouTube videos, Windsor said,  “[Max Verstappen] cannot have failed to have been very technically in tune with what he needs in order to be quick. I’ve always said, particularly like Michael [Schumacher], I think, was one of the first to really take it to the next level of knowing exactly what he needed in a very complicated world of Formula 1 and simplified it to a point where he just could say, ‘This is what I want to do the lap, thank you very much.’ Has he got the chance of winning eight world championships? Yeah!””

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Well, there you have it folks, the Dutchman has the skill, the charisma, and the racing talents to beat everyone, as he has been doing on the track all season. Additionally, pundits such as Coronel have backed his attitude and demeanor. Do you agree with Coronel’s comments comparing Verstappen to the German legends? Let us know in the comments.