With last year’s comprehensive title win, it seemed like Max Verstappen would have another easy conquest to his fourth championship in 2024. However, with rivals like McLaren, Ferrari, and finally Mercedes closing up to the Milton Keynes-based outfit, former Red Bull driver David Coulthard doesn’t believe Verstappen will have an easy route to success this year.
“This is going to continue to ebb and flow depending on whether the track suits your car, and whether your development profile is working for you throughout the remainder of the season. So, I don’t think it’s a slam dunk that this is Max Verstappen’s World Championship,” said Coulthard as per Channel 4.
Further, Coulthard also believes that the tightness in this year’s competition is unprecedented and has never been seen in the sport. “If you look at the actual lap time across the 20 cars that are there, it’s closer than it’s ever been in the history of the sport.”
After the first 10 races of the season, Verstappen has won seven races. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz have won a race each.
While the stats show that the Dutchman is still the dominant driver, it does not provide the whole picture. In the last two races, the win didn’t come easy to Verstappen. In fact, McLaren was actually faster in Barcelona than Red Bull.
“We aren’t the fastest, but we don’t make mistakes.”
– Max Verstappen 2024 pic.twitter.com/HLvFkNIzDo
— Enzo (@Aperta) June 23, 2024
And that’s why it has been accepted that the three-time world champion was the actual differential in the last race. Therefore, with every passing race, Verstappen could face more difficulties in increasing the 69-point lead he has over Norris right now.
Max Verstappen demands more pace
The 26-year-old is aware that Red Bull’s advantage of the past two years is decreasing. He credited his last win to the excellent operational work done by Red Bull in Spain.
However, he believes that the rivals can nullify that edge on a bad day. Therefore, post the Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen claimed that Red Bull needs to add pace to prevent their rivals from catching up.
While Verstappen has the caliber to outperform his rivals in the current machinery, the real concern for Red Bull is the Constructors’ standings. Red Bull has a fragile lead of 60 points against Ferrari, and Sergio Perez is contributing most to the Milton Keynes-based outfit’s current problem.
The Mexican race driver has only scored 20 points in the last five races, out of which he had DNFs in two of them. However, since he recently signed a two-year-long contract extension, it can make him a liability in front of his employers if things don’t improve for him going ahead in the season.
