F1: Why is Max Verstappen and the Red Bull too good yet again?

Best driver

Max Verstappen.|PHOTO: F1|

Even in the most heated of discussions, the subject of who is the greatest F1 driver of all time and in the present can typically be resolved by asking a straightforward question.

Who would you choose if you had to choose someone to drive the lap that saved the world?

The majority of the time, Max Verstappen, who has won 26 of the last 46 races dating back to the start of his first title-winning season in 2021, would be the correct response, especially in light of Lewis Hamilton’s uncharacteristically sloppy campaign last year.

That Championship was won under terrible circumstances, but it had been a foregone conclusion ever from the day he took the wheel of an F1 car for the first time at age 16 in 2014.

Max is one of the most remarkable natural talents to ever grace a racing car. As each grand prix passes, he continues to develop and bloom and has mostly eliminated the impetuous moments that occasionally jeopardized his early career.

But his tenacity is by far his most striking quality. His two-year war against Hamilton was characterized by an apparent immunity to pressure.

That often gives the idea that Verstappen would be unwilling to admit a weakness, even if it was right in front of him, in an age where professional athletes are pushed to be open about their doubts and flaws.

Best teammate

Redbull teammates Max and Sergio.|PHOTO: F1|

Verstappen’s lack of concern for the friendship he had just jeopardized was the most depressing aspect of the Red Bull controversy in Brazil last year.

He will never have a teammate as good as Sergio Perez for the whole of his F1 career because he manages to be quick enough to back Verstappen without ever posing continuous danger.

Perez can be annoying and uninspiring at times, such as when he qualifies many tenths off the pole, battles to P5 while Verstappen sprints to victory, or when he disappears for a while after a significant victory like Monaco.

Yet, those who urge the organization to look for a better driver for the second seat, such as Lando Norris or, for some inexplicable reason, Daniel Ricciardo, show a fundamental misunderstanding of the worth of Perez to Red Bull even on the days he performs poorly.

He allows Max Verstappen to be himself.

Best car in the grid

Red Bull’s car.|PHOTO: Sky Sports|

Verstappen’s initial one-word response to the question about how the RB19 differed from its predecessor when it was posed prior to the Bahrain Grand Prix would have made his rivals shudder.

“Everywhere.”

The RB18 from last year may have won all but five races in one of the most convincing Championship victories ever, but it had too many flaws for it to be genuinely adored.

It was unreliable to begin the season, was overweight for a significant portion of it, and at various times both drivers felt it was too unpredictable.

Verstappen and Perez were left defenceless for the remainder of the weekend at Interlagos in the penultimate race of the season because Red Bull was unable to find a setup that worked in the little practice sessions that were possible.

Verstappen’s preference for a sharper rotation and Perez’s need to produce more consistently the results of Jeddah and Monaco in the initial months of last year has been taken into consideration by the team while designing the chassis for 2023.

The RB19 has only been driven in competition at one location, and its advantage may be lessened away from Bahrain‘s extremely abrasive surface and traction requirements. It is still powered by the Honda unit Red Bull was so anxious to keep using that it established its own internal engine division.

A one-two start to the season, however, after only achieving five in 2022, clearly indicates that goals have been accomplished.