Retired four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel has jumped to the defence of reigning World Champion Max Verstappen, who many have said is making Formula 1 “boring”.
The Dutchman currently leads the standings by a mammoth 99 points after just 10 races, with him all but set to claim a third consecutive Drivers’ Championship.
He’s remarkably already claimed eight wins this season, mostly due to him having been untouchable.
His win at the recent British Grand Prix marked his sixth consecutive victory, something only four other drivers have ever achieved.
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When his domination will end remains to be seen, but Vettel insists that being “dominant” is much more than “just about lap times”, something the German believes the likes of Lewis Hamilton would agree with.
“You have to give him credit, he is performing fantastic. He is incredibly talented and makes no mistakes,” Vettel said at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last weekend.
“As soon as you drive at the front because you are doing well, people are quick to say that it is boring and that you win ‘easily.’
“But there is much more at play than just lap times. I’m sure Lewis Hamilton never had it easy during his dominant years, just as, for example, Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen and myself never had it easy.
“It is an incredible achievement to conceive and build a car that can beat the competition in every race weekend. The fact that Red Bull does well every weekend is due to perfection, consistency and the qualities of the team.”
One of the reasons why Verstappen is unbeatable is because Red Bull have designed an incredible car once again, which has claimed victory at every race this season.
Red Bull are so far 10 out of 10 for 2023, with Vettel believing that his former side could “definitely” win every race this season.
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“With this car, that chance is definitely there,” Vettel added.
“Reliability should never let the team down, no crazy things should happen and they have to survive all the first laps.
“No team has ever managed to do it, although McLaren was close in 1988. So anything is possible, but we can only wait and see.”