For 25 years, Trevor Carlin and his team has shone bright in motorsport, winning countless championships with a roster of drivers that reads like a veritable Who's Who, winning titles in British F3, Formula Renault 3.5, Formula BMW and GP3.

Carlin Motorsport, founded in 1996 by the former West Surrey Racing man, has at one time or another worked with eight of the drivers on the grid for today's United States Grand Prix, and consequently the Briton has earned an enviable reputation as a talent spotter.

Talking to Danish newspaper BT, Carlin claims former McLaren star Kevin Magnussen is reminiscent of the legendary Ayrton Senna.

"Kevin drove for Carlin in the British Formula 3 Championship in 2011, and he was superb all season long. From his first test, we knew he was something special," says Carlin. "He won seven races for us that year. In fact, he was robbed of the chance of becoming 2011 British Formula 3 Champion owing to a number of reliability problems that season.

"Carlin was founded in 1996, and since then we've competed in almost every significant motorsport series other than Formula 1 - GP2, GP3, Formula 3, World Series by Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 2.0, A1 Grand Prix, Formula E, Indy Lights... you name it, we've done it.

"And during the course of the past 20-odd seasons we've been lucky enough to have some truly brilliant drivers in our cars. Among current F1 drivers, no fewer than eight have raced for us at one time or another; Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, Daniel Ricciardo, Daniil Kvyat, Carlos Sainz Jnr, Felipe Nasr, Marcus Ericsson and Will Stevens - and before that we'd had guys like Robert Kubica, Brendon Hartley, Anthony Davidson and many, many more.

"If you were to ask me to name the best driver we've ever had, I wouldn't like to tell you, because to do so would be unfair on a large number of bloody good drivers, but undoubtedly Kevin would be right up there. He has unbelievable natural talent - and, in particular, his ability to brake late for a corner and yet nail its apex and then get on the power early is second to none. He's the real deal, believe me.

"The other day someone asked me which driver Kevin's driving style most reminded me of. I had a good think about it before I answered, and then I answered truthfully: Ayrton Senna.

"Any driver who finishes second in his very first Formula 1 race should be a permanent fixture in a competitive Formula 1 team's race seat," he concluded. "It would be a travesty if Kevin fails to find a Formula 1 race drive next year, because he's very definitely world champion material, mark my words."

Though unwilling to give any further insight into the reason for Magnussen's split with McLaren, or the precise manner in which he was advised, team boss Eric Boullier also believes the Danish youngster deserves an F1 seat.

"Kevin obviously has a great talent and he has to be praised for that and he should get a drive in Formula One next year," the Frenchman told reporters on Friday.