Max Verstappen has been exceptional in the 2023 season as he has won 13 of the 16 races so far. The Dutchman’s victory at the Japanese Grand Prix last weekend meant that Red Bull are already Constructors’ Champions for a sixth time, with six races remaining in the campaign. After helping the team lift the title, the 25-year-old will now hope to seal the Drivers’ Championship himself in Qatar. Verstappen just needs to finish sixth or higher at the Qatar GP sprint to win the title. While the two-time champion has been driving at such a high level, the same cannot be said for Sergio Perez. With Perez continuing to struggle, F1 expert Nate Saunders has revealed a trait that Verstappen acquired to dominate that the Mexican does not have at the moment.
Verstappen has matured immensely over the years as at the age of 25, he is already a double world champion. Moreover, the Dutchman already has 48 wins to his name, a stat that very few other drivers have in F1, especially at his age. It is the same maturity and learning that has helped him become one of the best drivers in F1 today.
Saunders explains why Perez is not at Verstappen’s level
In the most recent episode of F1’s Unlapped podcast, Nate Saunders explains why Sergio Perez is struggling massively in stark contrast to Max Verstappen. The F1 expert believes that the Mexican has lost a tremendous amount of confidence after he failed to match his Red Bull teammate after the first few races of the 2023 season.
As a result, Saunders believes that Perez has become very impatient and is trying to make moves that are unnecessarily risky for him. In stark contrast, the F1 expert believes that Verstappen is a much more patient driver and gave the example of how the Dutchman beat Carlos Sainz during a race at Monza earlier this year.
Constructors Champions of the world!!! 🏆
What an unbelievable season we’re having 🙌 I couldn’t be more proud to be part of this @redbullracing 🙌 Everyone working on the track and back in the factory, thank you so much. What a rocket ship 🚀
It’s amazing to achieve this… pic.twitter.com/c1MHnjukCr
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) September 24, 2023
“This trait I actually think is overlooked of his. Max has become a very very patient driver. He knows the car that he has underneath him. And we saw that in Monza. He did have a fight with (Carlos) Sainz but he waited for the situation to come to him. He eventually got past Sainz and disappeared into the distance,” explained Saunders.
Saunders then concluded his remarks by stating that for Perez, there is absolutely no reason why the 33-year-old should be struggling so much with the car that he is driving this season. With Perez struggling massively, the Dutchman can now win the title as early as the upcoming Qatar Grand Prix sprint.
Can Max Verstappen become the first driver to win a title on a Saturday?
Max Verstappen has been continuously scripting history this season as he has already registered a big record to his name. Following his win at Monza, he became the first driver in F1 history to register 10 consecutive victories. He beat Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine consecutive wins from 2013.
After having already scripted a huge record, the Dutchman can now add another. With a whopping 177-point lead in the championship over Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, the 25-year-old just needs three more points to win the title.
This means that a sixth-place finish at the upcoming Qatar Grand Prix sprint would be enough for him to win the championship. If Verstappen does manage to do that, then he will become the first driver in F1 history to win the title on a Saturday.
