Kevin Harvick: Kyle Larson 'would go wheel-to-wheel' with Max Verstappen in F1 car
Kevin Harvick is confident that Kyle Larson could hang with Max Verstappen if he ever made the jump to F1 racing. While speaking to NACAR president Steve Phelps on Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, Harvick explained why Larson could have success in an F1 car.
“I truly believe that our drivers make a better transition into IndyCar and F1,” Harvick said. “I think if we sent Kyle Larson and sent him to a Red Bull car right now, I think he’d go wheel-to-wheel with Max Verstappen. It wouldn’t take him long to figure it out.
“I think if you flipped that switch and you sent Max to a stock car, I think it would take a lot longer. NASCAR is such a unique… The car is such a unique dynamic to how you drive it and the things that you do, much different than it used to be from the older cars to the Next Gen cars. That’s a great debate. I’m glad that one of our guys are in that conversation from a NASCAR standpoint.”
How the Kyle Larson-Max Verstappen debate began
The debate began when Larson recently said that he’s a better all-around driver than Verstappen. “I know in my mind I am better than him as an all-around driver,” Larson told FloRacing when asked if he would have to race and beat Verstappen to be called the world’s best 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.”
Verstappen was asked about Larson comments and had no interest of getting into the debate. “That’s fine,” Verstappen said of Larson’s comments, via Luke Smith of The Athletic. “Everyone thinks their own way, right?”
Before those comments, Verstappen explained why the best driver in the world debate is not valid. “I have a lot of respect for other drivers who are doing a lot of different kind of racing,” Verstappen said. “… Honestly, I think I should first say we should not have that debate because everyone is good in their own right. I wouldn’t be good in dirt. Maybe if I would practice, I don’t know. Because I think at the end of the day, a good racing driver picks up things quite quickly. I find like you know it all depends on what you grew up with as well. Like, for me of course, probably go-karting and F1. These things are more natural to me than racing on dirt. I have no clue how to do that at the moment.