Max Verstappen vs Sebastian Vettel – who was more impressive in F1 for Red Bull?

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After a monumental effort, Red Bull have now helped to create two four-time Formula 1 champions in the last 15 years with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.

No other Formula 1 team has led two drivers to such success in the Drivers’ Championship, marking what an incredible effort the Milton Keynes-based outfit have made.

Vettel also shared the grid with two eventual seven-time champions on his way to the first three of the German’s four crowns in Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton.

Similarly, Verstappen had to go up against arguably the greatest driver of all time in the form of Hamilton during the Briton’s prime.

So, comparing their Red Bull tenures is tricky, but there are plenty of statistics which help us to assess who may have been their better driver between Vettel and Verstappen.

Vettel had competed in 112 races for the team at the end of his fourth title-winning season, and Verstappen 186. But who performed at a greater level across those 298 cumulative events?

Sebastian Vettel vs Max Verstappen in qualifying and races for Red Bull

This is more about assessing who was better for Red Bull as a whole during their team with the team, so that includes judging Vettel and Verstappen based on their performance in title and non-title winning cars.

Vettel won 33.63% of all the races he competed in with them, while Verstappen is currently at 33.87% meaning that they are separated by 0.24%.

READ MORE: Why Guenther Steiner feels Max Verstappen will be ‘remembered longer’ than Sebastian Vettel after retiring

Vettel was in championship contention for all but one of his six seasons in 2014, while Verstappen has only really had a shot in four of his nine years at Red Bull – and won every single time.

So, is the fact that his winning percentage is very close to Vettel’s despite having to deal with slower cars more impressive? Or were his dominant years just that much more of a cakewalk? It’s hard to tell.

Moving on to pole positions, Verstappen has started from P1 on the grid in 21.5% of his Grand Prix, while his German rival topped qualifying at a monster 38.9% of his – nearly twice the amount.

So, the Dutchman is talented over one lap but Vettel was something a little more special for Red Bull than Verstappen has been over the shorter format to date.

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has in recent times also shone more often than Verstappen in qualifying despite his 17.69% career pole position-to-race record.

Who was better – Verstappen or Vettel?

While the numbers in some categories are rather close, anyone who has been around to watch the entirety of Vettel and Verstappen’s careers knows what their strengths and weaknesses are.

One Red Bull chief called Verstappen better than Vettel to work with – an indication that the German was a bit more of a handful to manage.

Verstappen has destroyed every teammate in his path, while Vettel was bettered by a relatively inexperienced Daniel Ricciardo while at the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

The German appears to have been the better qualifier by quite some margin, but Verstappen has been better in the races.

READ MORE: Jenson Button recalls the moment he ‘spiralled out of control’ during F1 title battle with Sebastian Vettel

It did take Vettel less time to win and he had less experience at the time. But part of that is down to Red Bull’s domination at the time and the winning hangover that continued into Verstappen’s tenure.

The argument for Vettel is that he was younger, quicker over one lap and competed against upwards of six other champions when he achieved it.

For Verstappen, it’s that he arguably is a more talented driver with more concise racecraft and an ability to win in slower cars.

How much he goes on to win could tell us how much better he is, if at all. But the general consensus appears to be that when it matters in race trim, Verstappen has been slightly better for Red Bull than Vettel was.