'For Verstappen to become greatest ever, he still has to do this'

Former Formula One world champion Jenson Button is stepping in to race the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Saturday afternoon. According to the Briton, such a race could help Verstappen become the greatest ever, as Formula 1 alone is not enough for that, he states in conversation with The Times.

Max Verstappen currently has two world titles in the premier class under his belt and seems slowly on his way to a third. However, it is mainly his immense talent that impresses people."There’s every possibility that Max [Verstappen] could go down as the greatest," Button thinks. But something has to happen for that to happen, he thinks. "I like the idea that you can’t be the best driver in the world if you haven’t stepped outside of F1," says the Briton, who will himself race the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Button likes to watch Fernando Alonso. "Fernando has done a phenomenal job. He left F1 and came and raced in Le Mans and Daytona, won both, then won Le Mans again. I don’t think his performance has dropped away in his forties." Button himself has no regrets about leaving Formula One behind:"I had different ideas. I started a family and I don’t want to miss them all the time and them feel like their dad isn’t around. I felt like I had nothing new to learn."