Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, has called out three-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen and said he is “better” than the Red Bull driver.
NASCAR Cup Series star Kyle Larson has boldly claimed he’s the top driver globally, even surpassing F1’s triple world champion Max Verstappen. Larson is convinced he’d outpace the Dutch sensation in a head-to-head race and is open to proving his mettle at an event like the Olympics.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion and 27-time Cup race winner, Larson has consistently made the NASCAR Playoffs from 2016-19 and again from 2021-24. With four victories in 2024 and leading the current standings, he’s also ventured into IndyCar racing, attempting to win this year’s Indy 500.
On the flip side, Verstappen has been a force to reckon with in Formula 1, driving for Red Bull. Since 2021, he’s clinched 51 wins out of 80 F1 races, securing the world championship title each year.
Yet, when FloRacing questioned whether he needs to compete against Verstappen to confirm his status as the best driver in the world, Larson confidently responded: “Not really. I know in my mind I am better than him as an all-around driver.”
“There’s no way (Verstappen) can get into a Sprint Car and win the Knoxville Nationals. There’s no way he can go win the Chili Bowl. There’s no way he can go win a Cup race at Bristol. There’s probably no way I can go win a Formula 1 race at Monaco, but I think I’d have a better shot at him (doing what he does than him doing what I do) just because of the car element.
“That’s what gives me ease and confidence that, like, I know I’m better than him. Maybe not in an open-wheel IndyCar or Formula 1 car, but that’s one discipline. I think I would beat him in everything else. You can quote that.”
Larson, an acclaimed Sprint Car driver, made notable strides by leading several laps at his debut Indianapolis 500 last May. He notably joined driving titans Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt in the exclusive club of racers who have led the Indy 500 and Daytona 500 within a single season.
In the past month, Larson triumphed again at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, capturing victory at NASCARs esteemed Brickyard 400, marking him as just the sixth driver in the sport’s history to claim wins at the Brickyard, Coca-Cola 600, Southern 500, and Bristol Motor Speedway. While Formula 1 fans assert that true driving prowess is better showcased on road courses than ovals, Larson silenced critics in June at Sonoma by nabbing his seventh victory in 24 NASCAR road course events over the last four years.
With the Paris Olympics now behind us, the International Automobile Federation, which governs F1, is reportedly plotting another bid for go-karting to take its place among the list of sports for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics. Go-karting could potentially make its debut when stars like Max Verstappen would be aged 34 and Larson himself 40.
Yet, on the topic of possibly competing against Verstappen in an Olympic setting, Larson expresses skepticism: “There’s no denying we’re athletes. There’s no denying that.”
He adde: “But I will say, and I don’t follow the Olympics too much… I just don’t foresee it, you know, being in the Olympics; racing being in the Olympics because they are solely 100 percent athlete. Like, 100 percent pure athleticism is why you win, whereas racing, there’s always the machine-aspect of it. And the car, it’s not quite 100 percent.
“Even if you had two cars sitting right here and if you said they are identical, they are not identical. That’s why I don’t think racing will be in the Olympics. But I also want it to be in the Olympics because I would go do it.
“Right now, I don’t know. I just don’t think it could be an Olympic sport. But I’d love the opportunity to go for an Olympic gold medal or hell, any medal racing against Max Verstappen or guys from different countries and all that. Yeah, that’d be pretty awesome.”
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