Max Verstappen has arguably had one of the most dominant seasons ever in F1 history this year. He registered a record 19 wins after competing in 22 races. As per a report by GPFans, former Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul also admitted that Verstappen has been exceptional this season. However, he also claimed that Red Bull have designed the RB19 in a way to suit Verstappen’s strengths.
Abiteboul made his point by discussing the huge difference in the performance levels of Verstappen and his teammate Sergio Perez. The Mexican driver failed to come anywhere close to Verstappen this season as he just managed to register two wins all year.
Speaking of the same, the Frenchman said, “There is no doubt that that car belongs to Max Verstappen, designed for him. He is being pampered by the team.” Abiteboul explained that Verstappen’s earlier teammates were also victims of this kind of favoritism.
The former Renault team principal then also spoke about the psychological influence that Verstappen has on his teammates as well as his rivals. No one seems to fight the Dutchman since they already know how dominant the Red Bull man is, and therefore, there’s no use fighting him and ruining the tires.
Therefore, Verstappen is able to overtake most people without being challenged. However, the Dutchman did not need to do much overtaking this season as he spent more than 1,000 laps in the lead. Moreover, he also managed to wrap up his third title at the Qatar GP with five races to go. Meanwhile, Perez had to fight till the very end to secure P2.
Abiteboul compares Red Bull with Schumacher’s Ferrari
Cyril Abiteboul then also compared Red Bull‘s current domination with that of Ferrari’s in the early 2000s. The Frenchman claimed that what Red Bull are doing currently is much more difficult than what Ferrari did during the Michael Schumacher era.
Michael Schumacher – Ferrari pic.twitter.com/794RbHJvE1
— Ferrari Italia racecars (@FerrariItalia10) December 4, 2023
Abiteboul claims that things are far more competitive now with the cost cap forcing all the teams to work under similar constraints. However, during the older times, teams with a higher budget to spare could have easily had an immense advantage over others.
Abiteboul then also explained that 2023 was the second year under the new regulations, and therefore, all of the teams know what to do and what not to do. Hence, if the rest of the sides cannot still catch up with Red Bull, then the credit definitely goes to the Milton Keynes outfit.
