Max Verstappen is all but certain to defend his Drivers’ World Championship, after dominating the first half of the season.
The reigning World Champion leads the standings by 80 points over Charles Leclerc, with the Dutchman having won eight races already this season.
The Red Bull Racing driver has been unstoppable, with the 24-year-old having managed to win the Hungarian Grand Prix despite having started P10.
His victory at the Hungaroring asserted his dominance in the championship, with the Dutchman having proved that overtaking is possible at the circuit, which is regarded as one of the hardest to overtake at.
READ: Alpine boss lashes out at Oscar Piastri: ‘It’s about integrity as a human being’
Verstappen has gone up another level this season compared to 2021, where he was often involved in overly aggressive battles and occasionally going over the limit.
The 2021 World Champion has eradicated this in 2022 and has driven with a calm and mature approach.
Verstappen’s old Scuderia AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost believes Verstappen is performing ‘at an extremely high level’; however, the AlphaTauri team principal warned that “still, we haven’t seen the best from him yet.”
The Dutch driver raced for AlphaTauri in 2015 and for the start of 2016, before replacing Daniil Kvyat who was dropped by Red Bull prior to the Spanish Grand Prix.
Verstappen famously won his debut race for Red Bull at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Whilst warning that Verstappen will continue to improve, Tost believes the days are numbered for the Dutchman’s fierce 2021 rival Sir Lewis Hamilton.
“Time has taken its toll on Hamilton,” Tost said, with the AlphaTauri boss believing the old guard are quickly being replaced by the next generation of Formula 1 drivers.
Tost believes Hamilton’s intense battle with Verstappen in 2021 mentally drained the Brit, who is yet to battle the Dutchman this season.
As well as speaking about Hamilton, Tost also spoke against his own driver, Yuki Tsunoda.
READ: Aston Martin reveal when other teams will copy their innovative rear wing
The Japanese driver has proved to be incredibly quick; however, the 22-year-old is making mistakes far too often.
Tost believes this is down to Tsunoda being too “emotional”, but that if he gets on top of this then he has the potential to become a “great driver”.
“He needs to drive more carefully, not be so emotional. If he can make that step to the next, mental level, he can become a great driver. But now it’s up to him.”