"The sucking up to Max Verstappen at any opportunity is getting unbearable": Fans react to Gabriel Bortoleto calling Max the greatest

F1 fans have reacted to Gabriel Bortoleto's claims that Max Verstappen is the greatest-ever F1 driver, alongside Ayrton Senna. His remarks have sparked a mixed reaction, with some fans backing his view while others strongly disagree.

Bortoleto has consistently shared admiration for Max Verstappen since he joined the F1 grid as a rookie this year. The 20-year-old has admitted that he looked up to the reigning world champion.

Bortoleto once again shared his thoughts on Verstappen, this time ranking him as one of the two greatest ever F1 drivers in history.

"For me, along with Ayrton Senna, he [Verstappen] is the best driver of all time," said Bortoleto. "I really admire his way of approaching races, his way of understanding the sport, of understanding the car and the calmness with which he faces everything," he added.

This was followed by a mixed bag of reactions from F1 fans on X, who had their say on Bortoleto's comments.

"The sucking up to Max at any opportunity is getting unbearable," said one fan. "There are only 2 goats," replied another user, sharing an old image of Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher. "Im a max fan, but bortoleto lost me at ‘calmness’ 😂," said another fan.

Here are some additional reactions:

"Jenson Button & Eddie Jordan said that too," said a fan. "He’s not wrong." said another user. "At some point bro gotta realize that’s his competition now 😭," joked another fan.

Bortoleto also labeled Verstappen as "a great guy," who helped him on his journey to F1. The rookie explained how he became friends with the Red Bull driver while driving in F3 in 2023.

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Gabriel Bortoleto shares how Max Verstappen quietly supported his F1 journey behind the scenes

Max Verstappen and Gabriel Bortoleto at the Chinese Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Gabriel Bortoleto shared that Max Verstappen had already spoken highly of him in front of then-Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, while he was still in F3. Wheatley eventually ended up signing Bortoleto after becoming Sauber's team principal in 2025.

Speaking to the aforementioned source, Bortoleto highlighted what Wheatley had already heard about him from Verstappen, before he even raced in F2.

"Jonathan [Wheatley] told me that even before I joined Sauber, Max was very positive about me," said Bortoleto. "I know that Max doesn't usually talk about this himself, especially in the media, but it's something that helped me: talking about me to F1 people," he added.

Bortoleto won the F3 and F2 championships back-to-back in 2023 and 2024, respectively. He subsequently received a promotion into F1, albeit with a team which was expected to struggle coming into 2025.

But Sauber seems to have found pace this year, leading to a more positive outlook for the Swiss team. Bortoleto is also locked in for 2026, when the team will transition to Audi, with the management structure already in place.

Edited by Hitesh Nigam