20th August 2008. The day Usain Bolt became the fastest man on Earth for the first time. A day that?ll go down in history as the one that kickstarted his dominance. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Bolt took over the mantle by running the fastest 200m sprint anyone has ever seen. A feat he achieved with a blistering 19.30s dash, and a feat that he only improved on a year later. Be it in 100m or 200m, ever since his reign started in 2008, no one has beaten his numbers. They?ve gotten close but never close enough. Sound familiar? Maybe how no one has been able to beat Max Verstappen in Formula 1 for a while?

While Usain Bolt is the fastest man on foot on land, Verstappen is currently the fastest man on land, period. With the fastest racecar under him, the Red Bull driver is in another league compared to everyone else on the F1 grid, being the dominant force everyone pipped him to be. And now, this dominance has earned him a comparison to Bolt himself.

Is Max Verstappen the Usain Bolt of F1?

To put into perspective just how dominant the reigning world champion has been, he?s won 10 of the 12 races so far this season, 8 of which have been consecutive. As F1 returns after the summer break this weekend, the Dutchman will look to equal Sebastian Vettel?s 2013 9-race win streak at his home race. With a 125-point lead in the championship, a third-consecutive title is almost inevitable for Verstappen. But the thing about winning is if you do it consistently enough, everyone starts hating you. That?s precisely what?s happening with Verstappen and Red Bull.

In an interview with talkSPORT, former Toro Rosso driver Jean-Eric Vergne was asked about people?s feelings about Verstappen?s dominance. He replied, ?I don?t understand the people that are saying it?s bad. It?s just that the others have to wake up or be more talented. When you look at the 100 meters when Usain Bolt was winning everything, it was something that was fantastic for the sport. Everybody was witnessing greatness.? The Frenchman added that because you can?t really see drivers in F1 while they?re driving, people don?t realize the amount of effort that goes into it.

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Vergne continued, ?Max is doing is out of this world, and, as I said, if people actually realized how good he was and the things he is able to do that no one else can, I think they might enjoy watching the moment of history being made at the moment.? It?s not just fans who aren?t liking Verstappen?s dominance. A driver?who?s lived through his own dominance?revealed how ?unfortunate,? Verstappen?s dominance is.

Max Verstappen?s rival isn?t a fan of his dominance

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes dominated the sport from 2014 to 2020, almost throughout the turbo-hybrid era. It was one of the most dominant periods in F1 history, one that saw Mercedes win all seven Constructors? Championships and Hamilton win six Drivers? Championships. But now that it?s Red Bull and Verstappen doing the dominating, Hamilton expressed his disapproval. He said, ?We shouldn’t have a chance to dominate for a large number of years. The battle for top positions should be closer. Unfortunately, however, Red Bull could seriously dominate in the next three seasons as well.?

Considering his and Mercedes’ era, his comments didn?t go down too well in the F1 community. As good as it is for the sport to have title battles like the one in 2021 between Verstappen and Hamilton, Vergne said, ?I don?t think it?s bad or good that Max and Red Bull are so strong. It?s just that we are witnessing greatness on both the driver?s side and the team?s side, and it cannot be bad for the sport.??

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Do you find similarities between the eras of Max Verstappen and Usain Bolt’s dominance, and could the Dutchman go down in history as one of the greatest drivers in the sport?