9x race winner picked as the 'best driver after Max Verstappen' by former F1 supremo

Former F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone claimed McLaren's Oscar Piastri is the best driver after Max Verstappen. He suggested that the Australian driver is not prone to making mistakes on the track, and when he does, he accepts and learns.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen has set the performance benchmark for all drivers in the current generation of Formula 1. His era of domination began in the 2022 season, and he clinched four consecutive World Championships between 2021 and 2024. While he is still a contender for the title, McLaren's performance this season surpassed Red Bull, and hence, the former was able to lead both championships.

Oscar Piastri, who joined the grid in the 2023 season, is the current leader of the Drivers' Championship. Sitting at the top with a 22-point gap from his teammate Lando Norris, he has managed to outscore Verstappen in multiple races this season.

Bernie Ecclestone feels that his skills and attributes make him one of the best drivers in F1; however, only second-best to Max Verstappen.

"He [Piastri] gets the job done," Ecclestone told sport.de. "When he makes mistakes, he knows he’s made them and doesn’t blame others or come up with excuses. He makes sure he doesn’t repeat them. He doesn’t make them twice." "He’s the best driver after Max Verstappen."

Red Bull's performance was on a steep decline at the start of the 2025 F1 season, which drifted it apart from championship contention. While the team has improved, he is still 63 points far from Piastri, which can be a challenging task to fulfill in this season's final races.

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Max Verstappen delivers blunt statement on Red Bull's 2026 F1 engines

Formula 1 will undergo a major regulation change in the 2026 F1 season, with changes in the aerodynamic elements and design of the cars. The regulations will further see a drastic change in the engines, too. While teams will still be using the turbo-hybrid V6 engines, 50% of the power will be delivered through the electrical components, with other minor changes.

This will make the season a blank canvas for the engine suppliers. Red Bull, who are currently supplied by Honda, is preparing their own power units for the 2026 F1 season along with Ford. Although this is understood to be a promising project, Max Verstappen feels that the engines might not be powerful enough to dominate the grid.

"Next year will not be easy, with our own engine, of course. It’s a new risk for Red Bull. But they also took that risk when they entered Formula 1, and they didn’t do badly," he said.

He further claimed that Mercedes could have the upper hand in terms of engine performance.

"I think Mercedes will be in the lead [in 2026]. They’re still there and strong, they’re atop company. So I think they’ll be in the lead, especially when it comes to the engine."

Mercedes also dominated the 2014 engine regulations when F1 switched to he engines currently in use. Speculations from earlier this season claimed that Max Verstappen was looking forward to switching to the Brackley-based outfit in the future; however, it is understood that he will continue with Red Bull.

Edited by Gunaditya Tripathi