Bold Verstappen claim made as F1 talent questioned

Sam Hall
Sunday 15 January 2023 07:30

Formula E driver Oliver Rowland has made a bold claim in stating Max Verstappen would struggle to dominate in the all-electric championship.

Verstappen scored a record-breaking 15 race wins last season on his way to securing his second F1 title.

Despite such a statistic, Mahindra driver Rowland is confident no current F1 entrant is capable of switching categories and dominating.

“I don’t think you could put any F1 driver in Formula E where they would win easily,” Rowland told Total-Motorsport.com.

“I think Max [Verstappen] is the standout in F1 at the moment in terms of pace, talent, and just natural ability.

“It’s easy to say when he’s winning, I rate the others highly, especially the younger guys like Charles [Leclerc] and George [Russell].

“But they wouldn’t come here and dominate. I know that, I’ve raced against them and I know their level.

“I would say the average here [in Formula E] is better [than F1]. I would welcome them here any time.”

Rowland does have evidence to back his claim, with Antonio Giovinazzi finishing last of the full-time drivers after making the switch last year following three seasons with Alfa Romeo.

Former Toro Rosso driver Jean-Eric Vergne, however, enjoyed far greater success with titles in seasons four and five.

Of the eight campaigns completed so far, six have been won by former F1 drivers, with the exceptions being António Félix da Costa in season six and new AlphaTauri signing Nyck de Vries in season seven.

The new Formula E title race begins this weekend with the Mexico City ePrix.