Max Verstappen has made the best ever start to a season in his F1 career, accumulating 80 points in just four races. But he still trails behind championship rival, Lewis Hamilton, by 14 points, which is surprising, because most of us thought that Red Bull’s RB16B was the quickest car on the grid this season. Since Max is such a phenomenal driver, his father, Jos Verstappen, does not blame it on him.
Rather, he believes that his son is flattering Red Bull with his performance this season. In an interview with De Telegraaf, he said, “Maybe I shouldn’t say it, but: Thanks to Max, the car looks better than it really is.” (Quotes via Motorsport Total)
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Not only does he believe that Max is making his car look better, but Jos also thinks that his son will outperform Lewis Hamilton in the same F1 car, “We hope that Red Bull gives him the material to really show it.”
Quite an astonishing claim by the former Benetton driver; but he has the facts to back it up. So far in his career, Max has got the better of his teammates.
And so, Jos highlighted his performances against the likes of Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, and Sergio Perez to prove his point. “These are not nose drills, but somehow Max does an outstanding job.”
Jos defends the errors made by Max Verstappen
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At the Spanish GP, Lewis caught up with him as his tires wore out. This has led to some questioning Max’s tire management ability relative to Lewis. But Jos firmly believes that it is because “Max has to drive more at the limit to keep up with them – and of course he demands a lot more from the tires.”
Other than that, track limits have also severely cost him. He could take the pole in Portimao and the win in Bahrain if he didn’t go over the white line. But Jos sympathizes, “Sometimes he just wants more than what is in the car. But that’s not a mistake. You can see that Max just does everything he can.”
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Let’s hope that Red Bull can provide him with upgrades to challenge Mercedes on equal terms. Else they may see him walk out the exit door and even join their biggest rivals.