ValtteriBottasCadillac vs MaxVerstappenRed Bull Racing
VER leads the grade duel 11–2 — across the 13 rounds both were rated in, the car stripped out of the equation.
Valtteri Bottas vs Max Verstappen: who is driving better in 2026?
the verdict, from the numbersValtteri Bottas drives for Cadillac, Max Verstappen for Red Bull Racing, so the raw results are not comparable — everything below has car performance taken out of it. Max Verstappen leads on The Index, 9.79 to 6.86 — P1 against P19, a gap of 2.93 of a grade point. Round by round, Max Verstappen has out-driven the other in 11 of 13 races where both were graded. Max Verstappen takes Attack & Defence back the other way, 9.83 to 6.26. In the DriverIndex Championship — the same season paid on the official points scale, but on driver merit — Max Verstappen sits P1 on 139 points to Valtteri Bottas's P19 on 19. Officially they stand P6 and P21.