Steiner gives his verdict: Is Verstappen or Larson the world's best driver?

Steiner responds by saying that a final verdict cannot be made. "I think Kyle Larson is a very talented guy," said the former F1 team boss. "I like more what he does in a sprint car. NASCAR, he's very good. He's one of the best. He won a championship. The guy is a good driver. I learned that in my own way. Every series has got its speciality. You cannot say because I'm fast in NASCAR, I will be fast in an F1 car. It’s completely different!"

Steiner: 'Montoya also struggled with the switch'

Steiner makes the comparison with an athlete who is fast in the 100 metres but does not normally excel equally in the 800 metres or the marathon. "There is not one person who can do everything," he says. "You see F1 drivers, which are very good F1 drivers, have difficulty in IndyCar. For example Montoya, who was one of the best drivers in Formula One. When he went to NASCAR, it wasn't so easy for him. Always because it is a speciality.

"I'm pretty sure Max Verstappen will not beat Kyle Larson in a sprint car. It's not going to happen. Will Kyle Larson beat Max in an F1 car? It's not going to happen. So I see it like this. But will Kyle Larson be able to drive an F1 car fast? Yeah, sure. But would he be fast in a race? Only if he has time."

According to Steiner, that does not mean Larson would succeed in Formula 1. "Until he gets the grip of it, it will take too long because it's not only the driving. It's what comes with it. For example, the controls of that car, just to learn what it does, how the team works, because it's so different. But for sure, I would put him there as one of the best drivers, but saying that he's better than Max Verstappen in an F1 car, I'm not going with that. I wouldn't go this far as saying Max would be better than Kyle Larson in a NASCAR or in a sprint car. That's not going to happen."

This article has been written in collaboration with Matt Gretton