Felipe Drugovich now says 26-year-old F1 driver is adored just like Ayrton Senna

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Aston Martin reserve driver Felipe Drugovich has admitted that Max Verstappen is adored in his home country the same way that Ayrton Senna was.

Drugovich was speaking to Formula 1’s official website about some of the most iconic Brazilian drivers to have appeared in the sport.

Currently, F1 doesn’t have a Brazilian on the grid which is a surprise considering how interlinked the country is with motor racing.

Brazil has produced some of the greatest drivers in Formula 1 history but opportunities to get onto the grid are becoming harder and harder to come by.

Felipe Drugovich looks like Brazil’s next hope, or at least that’s if you listen to football legend Ronaldo.

He’s got some huge names to follow in the footsteps of including Nelson Piquet, Emerson Fittipaldi and Rubens Barrichello.

However, Drugovich has admitted that the adulation that Max Verstappen receives in the Netherlands reminds him of how Ayrton Senna was worshipped in Brazil.

Both drivers can now be classified as all-time greats within the sport.

Verstappen has already matched his Drivers’ Championships tally and overtook his number of F1 wins this year.

Drugovich compares Verstappen fanbase to Senna

Speaking about the Dutch driver, Drugovich said: “Senna to Brazil is pretty much how [Max] Verstappen is in the Netherlands – but even more.

“Obviously, now with the newer generation they don’t know as much about Senna, but back then he was the only hero that the country had apart from Pele. They were the biggest guys in Brazil.”

As Drugovich says, you only have to visit one of the European races on the calendar to see what he means when he compares Verstappen and Senna.

At each race, there will be a wall of orange in the grandstands cheering on the 26-year-old.

His fanbase is astonishing and one of the main reasons F1 has returned to the Netherlands to race at Zandvoort.

Senna is still one of the most popular drivers among older Formula 1 fans despite not racing since 1994.

He was simply incredible and taken away from the sport far too early during that awful weekend at Imola where Roland Ratzenberg also lost his life.

That level of adulation is incredibly difficult to achieve and shows just how good a job Verstappen is doing.

He now has the winter to recuperate before attempting to win a fourth championship on the bounce next year.