Verstappen has to step outside F1 to be a 'great' - Button

Former Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button says that Max Verstappen could go down in the record books as one of the greatest motor racing talents of all time - but only if he looks to compete outside F1 in the future.

“There’s every possibility that Max could go down as the greatest,” Button told UK newspaper The Times this week.

"But I like the idea that you can’t be the best driver in the world if you haven’t stepped outside of F1," he added.

• Read also: Button battles 'emotional rollercoaster' on NASCAR debut

Verstappen is currently wiping the floor with the competition in F1 with a massive 53 point lead in the drivers championship after just seven of the 22 races of 2023 complete.

But inevitably there have been questions about how much of that is to do with the Dutch driver's innate talent, and how big a role is played by Adrian Newey's genius in designing the peerless RB19.

In the past such niggling questions have prompted a driver to move away from the team that gave him initial success - Michael Schumacher at Benetton, Lewis Hamilton and McLaren, Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull - and prove themselves elsewhere.

But as far as Button is concerned, simply moving teams but staying within the same championship is not enough if for a driver who really wants to be acknowledged as the greatest talent of his generation.

Button is far more impressed by drivers who have spread their wings and found success in other series, with Fernando Alonso the greatest example of that in modern times following in the footsteps of Mario Andretti and Graham Hill.

A two-time F1 world champion, Alonso also found success on two occasions with Toyota in the Le Mans 24 Hours race, and has competed in the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 24 Hours and the Dakar Rally.

As far as Button as concerned, this diversity means that the Spaniard has more than stamped his claim on the title of being 'a great'.

“Fernando has done a phenomenal job," Button commented. "He left F1 and came and raced in Le Mans and Daytona, won both, then won Le Mans again."

Now 41 and by some way the oldest driver in F1, Alonso is undergoing a career renaissance with an excellent run at Aston Martin which means he is currently in third place in the driver standings behind the two Red Bull team mates.

"I don’t think his performance has dropped away in his forties," said Button, who is himself two years older than Alonso but who retired from Grand Prix racing at the end of 2016.

He did return for one more race with McLaren in 2017 sitting in for Alonso, who was taking part in the Indy 500 on the same day as the Monaco GP.

But since then, Button has mixed his media commitments with a range of different racing challenges. This weekend he's taking part in the Le Mans 24 Hours at the wheel of a development stock car entered by NASCAR, with Jimmie Johnson.

Button is also taking part in a number of NASCAR road course races this season, so he's putting his money where his mouth is in terms of expecting a level of career diversity from modern drivers.

It's all very much in contrast to Lewis Hamilton, who has suggested that he has no interest in competing in other motor racing series when he eventually retires from full-time F1 competition.

And it's still much too early to know what Verstappen might decide to do when he leaves F1 behind. To date his extra-curricular activities since becoming world champion have been largely limited to sim racing.

But Verstappen has talked openly about his willingness to leave F1 early if it becomes too distracted from the core appeal of racing, having been critical of the new sprint race format and of the new showbiz razzamatazz at Miami.

If that were to happen then Verstappen would still be relatively young and at the peak of his powers when it comes to deciding what to do in with the next stage of his life. Selling real estate sounds unlikely to appeal.

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