Sebastian Vettel once correctly spotted ‘something special’ about Max Verstappen after joining Red Bull

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Max Verstappen is now undoubtedly Red Bull’s greatest Formula 1 driver of all time, as well as the longest tenured.

The 2026 F1 regulations will mark the 11th consecutive season of their partnership, dating back to a fairytale debut win at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.

It took some time for Verstappen to mature and grow into his role as their lead driver, but now he looks destined to become one of, if not the greatest of all time.

Red Bull know that with a semi-competent machine, they always have a chance of winning with the Dutchman in the car. He’s a modern-day cheat code.

Niki Lauda knew talent when he saw it. Did Mercedes make a mistake not signing Max Verstappen?

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Martin Brundle predicted Verstappen’s move to a ‘championship-winning’ team just three races into his career. Just over 12 months later, he was proven right.

Looking to the future, Verstappen has GT3 plans for 2026 and is keen on branching into new endeavours before he retires from racing.

Sebastian Vettel knew Max Verstappen would be ‘something special’ after his Red Bull debut

F1 fans think Verstappen is ‘overdoing’ it and giving himself too much work to do every season, but it doesn’t appear to be affecting his results on track.

Year after year, he has continued to find ways to improve and become more consistent in the Red Bull cockpit. That’s where he has made his biggest leap since 2016.

During that season, Sebastian Vettel could already tell how ‘special’ the Dutchman would go on to be, urging the Dutch fans to appreciate him at the first opportunity.

“I think he’s doing a great job, not just yesterday,” he told RTL. “I think in particular, since he joined Formula 1. Honestly, it’s not a big surprise that he’s doing well. I think it’s a surprise that he’s doing so well consistently, without major mistakes.

“I think you really should treat him like a superstar in the Netherlands because he is something special. I don’t know, I’m not speaking words of advice, but you should really treat it as something special, because he’s really doing a great job. But equally, let him enjoy, don’t raise expectations.”

READ MORE: Max Verstappen shares his immediate reaction to hearing Red Bull’s 2026 engine for the first time

How Max Verstappen finally listened to Niki Lauda after calling his driving ‘not acceptable’

Verstappen’s 2016 season saw him behave questionably on track. He pushed the boundaries and his rivals weren’t always pleased about it.

Kimi Raikkonen was furious at the Belgian Grand Prix when he kept moving suddenly in a straight line and under braking.

Vettel got on his bad side in Mexico, too, after he cut turn one to keep a hold of third place in the race. It caused a big drama after the chequered flag.

Nowadays, it seems that Verstappen listened to Niki Lauda and is no longer as aggressive as he once was behind the wheel.