Kimi Raikkonen names Max Verstappen F1’s best driver after ‘star’ moment
Max Verstappen is F1's best, says Kimi Raikkonen
Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion, is adamant that Max Verstappen is the best driver on the Formula 1 grid.
In a rare interview, ‘The Iceman’ harked back to Verstappen’s victory on Red Bull debut, a scene Raikkonen got a front-row seat to witness. A “star was born” in that moment, said Raikkonen, with Verstappen having gone on to win four world championships in an already legendary Formula 1 career.
Kimi Raikkonen reflects on Max Verstappen’s breakthrough Red Bull victory
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It was back at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix where Verstappen claimed victory at the very first attempt with the Red Bull senior team.
Sealing his maiden win that day, Verstappen crossed the line six tenths ahead of Raikkonen’s Ferrari.
By 2021, Verstappen had achieved his lifelong goal of becoming world champion.
That marked the start of four consecutive Verstappen title wins. Despite falling just two points short of a remarkable fifth crown, Verstappen was voted the best driver of 2025, both by his peers and the F1 team bosses.
When asked by Quotidiano Sportivo to name the best driver on the F1 grid, Raikkonen’s answer was clear.
“Verstappen! I saw him make his F1 debut during my second spell at Ferrari. Max is phenomenal.
“He won his first race in Spain right in front of me, ten years ago. That’s when I realised a star was born.”
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Raikkonen, who became one of F1’s most popular characters thanks to his no-nonsense demeanour and hilarious outbursts, remains Ferrari’s most recent world champion.
Raikkonen reached the summit for the only time in 2007, emerging victorious from a title battle which also included McLaren duo Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
Skip forward to F1 2026 and Hamilton, now a Ferrari driver, is striving to win a record eighth championship. Ferrari’s homegrown star Charles Leclerc holds the same ambition to end Ferrari’s wait for a new champion.
Mercedes has emerged as the leading force at the start of F1 2026. Hamilton scored Ferrari’s best result so far this season with P2 in Canada.
“When I left the Scuderia at the end of 2018, I wished the team every success in quickly finding my successor in the championship roll of honour,” said Raikkonen.
“It hasn’t happened yet, but from a distance I can see encouraging signs.”
Raikkonen won 21 grands prix across his glittering, title-winning F1 career.
His final appearance came at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, a race which went down in F1 folklore as Verstappen won his first championship and ended Hamilton’s streak in the process.
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