1997 Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve has claimed that Red Bull are not “unbeatable”, with that title instead belonging to Max Verstappen.
Based on the statistics, Villeneuve does appear to have a point, given that 14 of Red Bull’s 16 wins this season have come courtesy of the Dutchman, who claimed his third consecutive Drivers’ Championship last weekend at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Whilst Sergio Perez was able to keep up with the 26-year-old in the opening handful of rounds, the Mexican has dramatically fallen off as the season has developed.
To put it into context, Verstappen is responsible for 66% of Red Bull’s points this season and even recently won the Austrians the Constructors’ Championship at the Japanese Grand Prix.
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He’s averaged a staggering 25.5 points per Grand Prix in 2023, whereas Perez has averaged 13.2.
However, the most damning statistic of them all, is that the reigning World Champion has scored more points than Perez and Lewis Hamilton combined, with the pair sitting second and third in the Constructors’ Championship.
Verstappen is yet to retire from a race this season and has finished no lower than second place, with the exception of the Singapore Grand Prix where he settled for fifth.
Perez, on the other hand, has retired from one race, with his lowest finishing result having been P16 in Monaco.
The 33-year-old has featured on the podium eight times this campaign, whilst Verstappen has been on the rostrum 16 times.
If Verstappen wasn’t on the grid, then Mercedes, Aston Martin and McLaren would’ve all won a race this season, with those three sides having all finished second behind the Dutchman at least once this year.
Perez hasn’t been able to get the most out of the RB19 and has been inconsistent, whereas Verstappen has been untouchable, with the stats all supporting Villeneuve’s opinion.
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“It’s wrong to say Red Bull is unbeatable,” Villeneuve told La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper.
“The unbeatable one is Verstappen.
“His strength is that he was never a child – he was mature even when he was little. He was created to be a champion by a father who was very hard on him.
“The truth is that, today, Max does not have a single weakness.”