Kyle Larson’s ‘better than Max Verstappen’ claim met with ‘cry in a corner’ response

Kyle Larson celebrates victory in Indianapolis.

NASCAR driver Kyle Larson is confident he’s a better all-around racer than F1 World Champion Max Verstappen, but not everyone is as happy about that assessment.

Tim Coronel, a Dutch racer turned motorsport analyst, has come to Verstappen’s defense in a strong way, going so far as to suggest that Larson is “wrong at life.”

“Kyle Larson is going to cry in a corner somewhere”

As he celebrated his third win at the Knoxville Nationals in four years, full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver Larson had quite a lot to say about how he would compare to Verstappen in the “greatest of all time” debate.

“I know in my mind I am better than him as an all-around driver,” Larson said via FloRacing.

“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 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.”

As you can imagine, Larson’s bold claim was met with some hefty backlash, especially as the international racing scene is concerned — and Tom Coronel, a Dutch racer turned Formula 1 analyst, doesn’t have time for Larson’s claims.

“If you say that, then I don’t think you know what’s going on in the world besides that bubble he’s in in America,” Coronel said, as reported by RN365.

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Coronel, who is best known for his rally racing, didn’t stop there.

“If you think you’re better than Max Verstappen, I’d actually really like to have a match between them, because you’re going to lose,” Coronel added.

“Max in those GT cars also goes bellowing, in the sim, with everything.

“Kyle, sorry, but I think you are wrong in life. Then you haven’t understood what driving a car is at all.”

Further, Coronel imagined what would happen if Larson were to be paired directly against Verstappen in some form of racing, saying, “Two practice sessions for Max and then Kyle is going to cry in a corner somewhere.”

Of course, there are arguments to be made in favor of both drivers being highly skilled, but Coronel’s assessment seems to bypass the fact that Larson specified he felt that he’s a better all-around racer than Verstappen — but he didn’t deny Verstappen’s skills in the open-wheel realm.

After all, Larson has already shown his skills in stock car racing as well as in endurance prototype racing and dirt racing.

Max Verstappen is undoubtedly skilled in both Formula 1 and in GT sim racing. However, we don’t have much of an indication of how he’d perform on an oval, or on dirt.

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