Sergio Perez issues bold prediction for what Max Verstappen will ‘become’ before he leaves Red Bull

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Max Verstappen is somehow still in the Formula 1 title fight with two races remaining in the 2025 season. At one stage, he was 104 points behind the championship leader.

But the Dutchman simply refuses to give up, and continues to will his Red Bull car to places that it shouldn’t be.

Winning a fifth consecutive drivers’ championship would undoubtedly put Verstappen in the conversation among the top three greats.

In a few weeks, his full focus will turn to the 2026 F1 regulations. It’s a new era and could completely flip the order. It’ll also be a challenge to the drivers who are accustomed to the current machinery.

F1 fans called Verstappen driver of the day in Las Vegas as a critical win kept his hopes alive following McLaren’s double disqualification.

After watching him this year, Jenson Button thinks ‘everyone’ is cheering on Verstappen in the hope that he can produce a thrilling end to the campaign.

READ MORE: Max Verstappen shares what Red Bull must now do to beat Lando Norris in the F1 title race

Sergio Perez tips Max Verstappen to ‘become’ the greatest F1 driver of all time

Verstappen won’t like the ‘noise in the paddock’ about 2026 potentially being a tricky year for Red Bull and the introduction of their first power unit.

The team doesn’t expect to be winning straight away, and with Verstappen having a 2026 exit clause, they’re going to be under pressure to develop well.

But they do have the talents of the best driver on the grid to make up for it, and he’s at the very top of his game.

It’s why ex-teammate, and Cadillac driver Sergio Perez, has tipped him to ‘become’ the greatest Formula 1 driver of all time before he bows out of the sport.

“What happened with Red Bull, in the end, I knew it was the best thing that could have happened to me,” he told the Italian edition of Motorsport.com. “Because being at Red Bull and the conditions I found myself in were very demanding.

“And all the drivers who have arrived and those who will arrive will continue to have the same problems because it’s a very complex car to drive, where you have to constantly adapt to Verstappen’s style. 

“I think he will become the best driver in the history of the sport; the Red Bull project is made for him.”

READ MORE: Max Verstappen claims he’s still the ‘only’ F1 driver to be punished for one offence, but he’s wrong

Who will Max Verstappen’s new Red Bull teammate be in 2026?

Red Bull are still yet to announce who will line-up alongside Verstappen in 2026, which is a critical decision.

Their last few choices have struggled, with Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson, and Sergio Perez having driven for them over the last 12 months.

Isack Hadjar is the favourite to replace Tsunoda, but the Japanese driver hasn’t been ruled out of keeping his seat just yet.

Laurent Mekies is ‘really struggling’ to drop Tsunoda over fears about whether it may be too soon to promote some of the drivers in Red Bull’s talent pool. He doesn’t want to do any damage.