Jack X: Our era was completely different

      Jacques Ickx, who at one time became a two-time vice-world champion, admires Max Verstappen's ability to overcome the imperfections of technology and believes that is why the Dutch Red Bull Racing driver has earned such a high reputation in the motorsport community.

      "If a driver constantly wins, and it is already known who will become the champion, then over time it works against you," shared the 81-year-old Belgian in an interview with RacingNews365. "People get tired of seeing the same winner all the time. But Max, especially last year and the year before, has shown that even driving not the best car, he is still capable of winning races. He deserves admiration because he confirms his class.

      Every decade, good drivers emerge, but among them, there is one exceptionally fast. This is exactly the situation with Max, who started racing at a young age and has always been fast. Red Bull has created the perfect combination – him, their car, and the team's engineers. The timing for this was very appropriate. Just remember how much he outperformed his teammates."

      Jacques Ickx, during his career, constantly combined Formula 1 with performances in other categories, winning the World Sportscar Championship twice while driving Porsche prototypes and winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times. Therefore, he understands Verstappen well, who is preparing for the marathon on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring and is already competing in the German NLS series:

      "This is very cool, it makes me happy. You can still sometimes see similar examples; Fernando Alonso has such a career, but with our times, it cannot be compared at all. Throughout the year, we could start in forty races; for example, in 1968, I raced for both Ford and Ferrari at the same time – now that seems unthinkable. But it was a completely different era, the era of dinosaurs.

      Back then, I once said that we were more like mercenaries than professionals. I meant that drivers of that time had very versatile training, and if there was a free weekend, you could compete in any events you wanted. It wasn't just me – everyone did this: Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jack Brabham. This meant we raced in Formula 2, Formula 1, endurance races, touring, where we drove Ford Cortina, Ford Mustang, Alfa Romeo.

      Those times will never return. Now drivers are tied to exclusive contracts with a specific brand or team. Moreover, they are tied to a specific sponsor of that brand. Now you are picked up around the age of 13, and you only gain some freedom when you become an adult. What we did is long gone. And speaking of Max, he knows who I am and always approaches me when we see each other. It's nice because he doesn't have to do that – I can't be considered part of his world. But I think he is a good person, and when you get to know him better, your opinion of him changes."