Everyone Thought Will Buxton Was An Idiot When Max Verstappen Won His First Race  

Also Nikki Lauda called him a once-in-a-lifetime talent, so that's not so strange...😉👍🏼

Big FY to those who called Buxton an idiot or worse.🙄

After Spain Max kept proving Will right.

_“This is a once in a century talent. There has never been a driver like him and if you ask me there wil never be another with that level of natural talent.”_ *3-time World Champion and Lewis Hamilton’s boss, Niki Lauda,* on Max Verstappen, live on German television, in *2016* 💁‍♂️

I followed Max' career after I watched him in Brazil 2014. Throughout the 2010s, when RB had a mediocre car compared to Ferrari and Merc, you can see glimpses of his talent. 2020 was the awakening when Merc had the most dominant year of their tenure and Max was always there to pick up podiums, and it showed in 2021 when people finally noticed how great of a driver he really is.

Just look at his 2023 season. He won 19 races out of 22, an 86.4% winning percentage. Only 17 drivers in the history of the sport have 19 wins to their name..he did that in a single season. I don’t think that record will EVER be broken.

Just think of it for a moment what he did back then. You step into a car unknown to you, a new team, still so young... The OP cars drop out of the race so you have this one ultimate chance, you finish it as a stone cold killer while you feel the breath of some former champions behind you, trying to push you into this one mistake (they must have thought Max as a rookie WOULD make one but he didn't). Just an unbelievable performance, yet it takes more then 10 years for so many people to wake up. It takes an unbelievable level of stupidity to not recognize Max for the talent he is.

‘How many more records will be broken?’ A lot, Will. Like, a lot. 🤘

If you look at Max his youth performances, there has simply never been anyone in history who performed better. When he joined F3 he beat Mercedes while driving with a VW engine that broke down all the time. And not just once, in fact he won more races then anyone else. And that's why he was signed for F1 after just a couple of months in F3. He also went straight from karting to F3. That's not normal.

9 wins and 50 podiums between 2015-2020 seasons in peak Mercedes time, without having the Best Car, fighting the Ferraris, fighting W11, fighting Lewis,Seb & Kimi is his Greatest Achievement.

Im a biig Senna fan, been watching F1 from the late 70s and I honestly believed I'd never see anyone again like Senna, but then came Verstapen.

“How many more will be?” 2023…

Not a fan of Max..but, had to admit that he is something!

I'll be honest, I was very surprised when Max Verstappen, at just 16 years old when hired by Red Bull to drive for Toro Rosso in 2015, drove a Toro Rosso for the first time at Suzuka. As a fan of the sport since 1996, I was very familiar with the surname, knowing he is Jos Verstappen's son, but when I saw him driving as well as could be expected for a driver with such limited experience at one of the sport's most challenging tracks, Suzuka, I began to see why people were making positive noises about him. His drive to 4th place behind only Hamilton, Rosberg and Vettel at COTA in 2015 in mixed conditions was, for me, the standout of his rookie season, where I thought, I can see this kid achieving great things if he gets a good car. While it could be argued that his win at Spain 2016 was helped by the two Mercedes taking each other out, that occurred on lap 1, there were still 65 more laps to pan out and it would be disrespectful for people to ignore that, it was a great defensive drive on worn tyres to hold off Raikkonen and take his first win and first podium. His best drive in 2016, at least in my opinion though, was in the torrential rain of Brazil. While he didn't win, coming third, he displayed superb feel and confidence in the incredibly challenging conditions, including keeping his car out of the wall when most wouldn't have managed likewise. Will Buxton was absolutely on point of his prediction in retrospect, it takes watching up and coming drivers in the lower categories to see their potential. For example, in the case of Lewis Hamilton, it was his epic recovery drive in GP2 at Turkey in 2006. An early spin dropped him down to P18, but from there, he picked up car after car, driver after driver, setting the fastest lap in the process. Although he finished 2nd, he rightly celebrated as though he had won that race. Afterwards I thought, if this kid isn't in F1. It will be a travesty

You are so right Wil

Well i was always with Will on this one! Always knew he was something special and after watching f1 over 40y, he's actually topped my list of the greatest drivers now

So what you like about max. He is brilliant. He’s definitely one of the greatest drivers of all Time 😊

yeah, and now the FIA making/change many rules just to stop him

Buxton is a drama queen, but he was spot on and I watched that race that Max won for the first time and I said out loud to myself ‘ hmmm that kid can drive. Hope he keeps his head on straight.’ He did, and he is entering icon status before our eyes…

Max got so much shit in his early years, mainly from British Lewis fans and Russian trolls butthurt over Kyvat or what's his name. He's on his way to becoming the absolute GOAT

He has that Schui, Hamilton and Senna attitude. They will do anything to win. He is just a winner that will always make him hated.

Some people think it’s ridiculous to bring Max into the goat debate (it will always be an opinion), but what he achieved now at his age, it’s kind of hard not to…

If Max were British, German or Brazillian, we wouldn't have this much debate about his skill.

Genuinely really like will, always get good vibes listening to his commentary

Buxton used to do American tv, and I really miss him. Sky guys are good, but to add Will to the team would really be awesome

I still remember when i saw him racing in F3 and thought that the kid, with the right mentality and choices would become one of the greats. When I saw him win his first GP and said to my friends that, no matter what, he will at least win one WDC in F1. Now I believe he could go on, with good choices, and become a champion in multiple categories in the future. I think he will transcend F1 and has the possibility of not only become one of the F1 greats but become a completely motorsport idol. I hope he has the luck and takes the right choices during his career, I want to see a driver do that in my lifetime.

Wow, what a contrast this is to the Buxton of today, to the overdramatized reaction to the minor dustup at Austria.

Will Buxton is a G He obviously plays up for the cameras on DTS, but around the paddock he actually asks good questions and you can tell the drivers like him.

I miss Will being on the NBC race coverage. I've seen him on the prerace F1 channel but it's not the same.

And you were right. Good on you for spoting his talent.

He is a record breaker for sure. He just broke the record for number of abusive messages towards his team when things aren’t going his way.

I wish we still had Will down in the pits and doing a grid walk. He was the best!

I loved Will Buxton! He was one of the early social media sports influencers. I remember 2010 he encouraged hundreds of fans to come and meet up for the Canadian race. He also became a big fan of the US Women ⚽️ team as we all had an athletic crush on “pink headband girl” - aka Alex Morgan - who also went on to greatness even a 5-goal game!!

I've always liked Max's "I just want to drive and win"; he has no interest in "The Show" bullsh*t the F1 media obsess over. He's an incredibly talented driver, and like all the very greatest; Schumi, Senna, Alonso, Vettel etc, he often pushes the boundaries of fair and acceptable, for better and for worse.

max is not my favorite f1 driver, that would be alonso but i have immense respect for the guy and his achievemnets. the guy is incredible, look at the comparison between max and sergio this year. if we had two sergios in the cars we would think redbull made a mess of the 2024 f1 car. we know the car isnt the default best anymore but if a win is possible then its always going to be in a position to do it with max at the wheel. alonso and max i think have the most raw talent on the grid, they can squeeze the best out of any car they drive and ive a feeling piastri will join them.

You were very correct. He is a great champion now , and a credit to F1

he forgot to tell that he would be also a spoiled child that would never grow up.

thats why he is in DTS, and earning big. Well deserved Mr Buxton!

As much as I dislike Buxton for no reason, he is right.

Once in a lifetime? Formula One as a sport has been around for only one lifetime, and plenty of its past greats rank above Max. I'm not denying that Max is a superb driver, but if you're a journalist, choose your words properly.

He is the greatest talent the sport has seen, he is also the greatest driver we have seen - he will miss all the records. If he wrote the same thing as Max and Max was British, then he would have been praised for it. Max's biggest problem is that he is not from England.

God how I miss NBCSN, even Buxton's commentary dropped in quality after moving to Sky

I think Piastri is the next one in a generation talent. Next year and beyond, when he drops Lando, I'm looking forward to epic battles with Max and Oscar.

I love how nice and smart will is

To anyone who knows anything about F1 or just racing in general, it was obvious how good Max was from day 1.

As it turns out, a lot

Buxton is a true asset for the f1tv media aint none like him in the team.

Hopefully one day he will have a decent team mate we can compare him to.

Buxton is in love with himself.

People are humans. We are who we are. Win some lose some

Good for you , Max stood up for u.

Will Buxton is a gift to F1.

No matter what you think of max, he brought excitement back in a sport of parades

People hate him now, but will miss him once he ventures to dominate Endurance racing. Maybe he'll go for the triple crown even though he doesnt like indy. Im glad I'm here to see it.

I called his success in 2015! I've followed max since karting and I saw in him he would be a champion and one of the best ... so yeah I got laughed out the room, who's laughing now? 😎

Will is the best comentator on the F1 channel.

Words of a visionary about one of the greatest talents Formula One has ever seen. We are watching history in the making these days....

When Max was in F2 I said to my wife. He is a multi- world champion. Still not a fan of Max but I'll give credit where Cedit is due. He is the difference in Redbull this year

Max is an incredibly reliable driver. Rarely makes a mistake which is so crazy to even imagine when doing 70 laps around a circuit

Records were meant to be broken, and there was one. Many more will be. Indeed.

Im as sick of his dominance now as everyone, but someday we'll look back on Verstappen as the best to ever do it.

Verstappen easily had the most raw speed of any RB driver to date. Whether he’s the fastest driver in RB is still up for debate. It’s a shame we can only witness prime Verstappen in his actual best for 2 years in 2020 and 2021 due to the car being so dominant

You should have seen him in Japan when Jules Bianchi crashed. He was all over it. Dude noticed Bianchi hadn’t come back to the pits. While British broadcast had no clue.

Apparently according to Chatgpt it was Lewis Hamilton that called him an idiot...😮

Buxton is an easy person to dislike

All his presence is changing is the way F1 is turning into WWF.

Antonelli could be the next Verstappen if he’s nurtured and not pushed out too fast. Let’s hope they get it right.

Max is a human error champion

if you finish the season with more points than anyone else, you become World champion -Will Buxton

will buxton will say anything to appease his bosses. A really conceded guy without anything to show for it.

The fact that he does a race, then jumps in his rig and races online just goes to show his pasison for motorsport.

He proved Buxton right LONG BEFORE Spain.

The people that called him an idiot are Lance Stroll fans.

Max is incredible, no doubt. History shows it. - But the time has come for him to be bumped off the throne, one way or another, with particularly some Brits breathing down his neck lately. - I'm saying this as a Dutch and casual F1-enjoyer, but that's what makes it interesting (to me). It's a competition after all.

Will Buxton is a professional yapper. In reality he was probably calling somebody an idiot for saying this about Max.

Buxton predicted the future in this clip

“When you call Someone an idiot….you often are an idiot yourself”

Hindsite is a beautiful thing HOWEVER and it’s a big one… You can’t blame the people for calling BS when max was taking himself and other drivers out more than what was reasonably acceptable. He has well and truly earnt his seat in F1 now but back then he didn’t deserve it and many drivers and fans spoke out about it.

Buxton is only in f1 still because of this, lad hangs his hat on it constantly

I genuinely think this will be the same for Oliver bearman he’s doing quite well

And Will ended up being completely wrong. 6 years in the midfield, questionable driving standards, only capable of winning with a truly rediculous car advantage, and immediately falls back into the pack when his advantage is reduced to only marginally having the best car.

There have been ALOT of “Next Schumacher” and “Next Hamilton” claims thrown around - I remember when Alex Rossi was touted as such, Robin Frijns too - Lewis Williamson! It’s a big claim to throw around and I feel like people are trying to push Kimi-Antonelli into that conversation but I just don’t see it right now

Schumi used to say that way before Sebastian, but anyway.

Except of course that nobody thought Buxton was an idiot. Everybody knew since his debut he was the biggest talent ever.

Will seems to have forgotten this based on his comments in Spain. How did he get into F1 in the first place?

Here's a record Max will take and keep for a very long time to come...the most competitors "taken out" by a single driver in a career!

Now if Max can grow up.

Once that red bull slows down they won't be saying that anymore

We love you will 😊😊

I do t think he's once in a lifetime. But part.of the elite drivers of f1 yes of course

They keep running into me

...and Oscar Piastri is the next....

Respect the best

Well here we are 2024 and will was spot on 3 WDC and records broken

Damn Will Buxton was spittin, if only he had takes like that now instead of just spewing blatantly obvious crap like you need to use the steering wheel to turn or that the car needs gas to move.

Will saying Will things.

People dump on Will and i dont get it. Hes just a guy that loves formula 1.

Based on current trajectory max will be the GOAT of F1 without a doubt. He will easily beat hamiltons GP wins record and i see him getting 10-15 driver championships easily. He is a nightmare to defend against and to try overtake he puts fear into every driver thats why lando always fucks up everytime he overtakes max he makes a mistake and max takes the spot back. I much prefer maxs driving style to lewis blowing past people for sport in the mercedes rocketship

Still hasnt broke f,all records to this day

Whats up with the background music? Kinda..cheesy…