Max Verstappen has been told he "isn't up to" matching the Formula 1 world titles record set by Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.
The Dutchman already has two to his name, after sealing his second in confusing circumstances at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday. And he looks well-placed to add more in the future with Red Bull looking very strong in this new era of car designs.
He needs five more to match the current record, shared by Hamilton and Schumacher. Given the way he has matured and his domination of this year's championship, few would deny Verstappen has the talent and team to at least have a decent chance of threatening that record.
But Ralf Schumacher, brother of Michael and uncle of current Haas racer Mick, is one of those who still has doubts. A former F1 racer in his own right, the German said he feels it is still too early to suggest Verstappen will go on to become one of the sport's most successful ever drivers.
"Congratulations to Max Verstappen on his second world title! He's had an incredible year, especially considering how tough the start of the season was. He was very unlucky then," he wrote in his column for Sky Germany.
"Overall, the Red Bull driver is of course a worthy winner. What particularly impresses me about him, in the past there have been strong drivers who have dominated together with their team. In relation to his team-mate Sergio Perez, Verstappen also makes a difference in the team in an impressive way.
"Even though he's only 25 years old, I think it's a bit premature to think about tackling the records set by Lewis Hamilton and Michael. I'm assuming that Verstappen isn't up to it just yet. That's still a long way off. In terms of driving ability, of course, he can definitely do that, there's no doubt about that. But we also know that in F1 it also depends on factors that the driver cannot always influence."
Red Bull chief Christian Horner will hope his driver can prove Schumacher wrong. But reacting to his second title success on Sunday, he was simply delighted to see the progress Verstappen has made and the way he has taken complete control of the title race this season.
"Max has been truly dominant. Our 14th victory that is a record for us as a team," he said. "The way he has driven from the last race... Max has grown from that first world championship the way he has given and operated this year. He deserves it."
