Ferrari boss hails Max Verstappen and Red Bull's work: "They're just doing a fantastic job"

Red Bull – Max Verstappen domination
Much can be said about this first half of the 2023 Formula One season, but not that it has offered significant variation at the top. For the first time in Formula 1 history, indeed, a single team has managed to claim victory in the first 12 races of the championship. Red Bull has established a record streak of results that has surpassed the previous 11 consecutive wins in the same championship achieved by McLaren in 1988. However, while the internal rivalry between Senna and Prost made that team’s championship exciting, this time the title race has transformed into a more traditional one-man show.

Max Verstappen, in fact, has formed a nearly perfect pairing with the new RB19, triumphing in ten out of 12 races and finishing second behind his teammate in the remaining two. The Dutch champion, on his way to a third consecutive world title, arrives at his home race in the Netherlands with an impressive streak of eight consecutive victories. Furthermore, this year Max Verstappen has already won two out of the three Sprint races held.

This impressive series of records, however, according to many, is harming Formula 1 by erasing all the unpredictability of the Grand Prix.

Fred Vasseur’s defense
Surprisingly, in defense of Max Verstappen, the current team principal of Ferrari, Frederic Vasseur, has taken a stance. The French manager highlighted the results achieved by #1 from Hasselt and his team, turning the analysis around and emphasizing that it’s the other teams, starting from Ferrari itself, that need to improve to match the reigning champions. “Verstappen isn’t harming anything, he’s just doing a fantastic job,” commented Fred Vasseur to the Italian magazine Autosprint. “Better than the others, along with his team. We should only be motivated to do a better job. We can’t complain about the Dutchman’s dominance.”

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Continuing his thoughts, the former head of the Sauber team also pointed out the total synergy that has developed between the orange champion and his car, not hesitating to address the issue of fluctuating performances delivered by Sergio Perez with the same single-seater. “Max Verstappen and the RB19 are one unit and should be evaluated together,” concluded Fred Vasseur. “It’s also true that, if we look at the internal results at Red Bull, there’s a clear performance difference between the two drivers. But this is primarily a problem for the Milton Keynes team, and I don’t want to get involved.” – the French manager added.