Verstappen untouchable?

[Monty]

I am still not convinced that Verstappen is any better than the obviously brilliant drivers in the top end of the field - both old (Alonso, Hamilton, etc.) and young (Leclerc, Russell, Sainz, etc.).
He is definitely the most ruthless but past history proves this is not a good attribute when he is involved in close racing. At the moment, he is never in close racing because his car can simply drive away from every other car on the track.

[Jericoke]

I am still not convinced that Verstappen is any better than the obviously brilliant drivers in the top end of the field - both old (Alonso, Hamilton, etc.) and young (Leclerc, Russell, Sainz, etc.).
He is definitely the most ruthless but past history proves this is not a good attribute when he is involved in close racing. At the moment, he is never in close racing because his car can simply drive away from every other car on the track.

I've been watching F1 for a while now, and what it takes to be a 'top' driver has certainly changed over time.  Like you say, at a skill level, there is very little to choose amongst the 20 drivers in F1.  Even recent 'washouts' like Mazepin and Latifi were skilled enough to get podiums if they had the right cars.

I think the difference between the drivers and the champions is the ability to put in a 'special lap' when required.  Hamilton is famous for 'Hammer time', and that's the difference between him and anyone else.  It doesn't come up every race, or even every season, but those one or two moments where the chips are down, and everything is on the line, they can put in a magical qualification lap, or drive the wheels off a car whose tires were 'over the cliff' 2 laps ago.

Every champion has a moment we can point to where they've done something incredible.  In 2021, yes, Max had the advantage over Hamilton on that last lap, and it was his race to lose, but it was an insane amount of pressure, and, as much as I hate to admit it, Max rose to the occasion, and that's what makes him a champion