Former F1 driver David Coulthard says it is ‘silly’ to say Max Verstappen’s success is ‘because of the cars’.
Whether it’s Lewis Hamilton’s title success, Michael Schumacher’s success or Max Verstappen’s second consecutive victory, the general opinion of the critics is that those drivers won because ‘the car was good’”.
David Coulthard, who has 246 F1 appearances and 13 wins, battling with both Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, is now an analyst for Viaplay and Channel4.
David Coulthard recounts during his years behind the wheel that he learned that it’s not easy to win “even with a winning car”, and tells FORMULA1 Magazine what the difference is between a good driver and a world champion.
David Coulthard believes Max Verstappen is “already one of the greatest drivers”.
“Just like Lewis doesn’t need nine world titles to be considered one of the greatest drivers in the sport, this is the third time Max has been considered one of the greatest. We don’t need a title,” said David Coulthard.
“Max is already one of the great drivers and to claim that we reached him because he had a good car is absurd.”
“At the end of the day, none of his teammates could match him. Max is a beast on the track and he wins no matter what we say or what anyone else says. He’s a production car. He’s awesome.”
But that’s an opinion on easy criticism and a good car is still a requirement to win an F1 title. As examples, David Coulthard cites Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
“Lewis could have been a nine-time champion instead of a seven-time champion. At the same time, he was often in a good car, a driver like Alonso was not.”
Fernando Alonso also won back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006, but like Max Verstappen now, nobody thought he would stop.
“Alonso should have won more than one title,” said David Coulthard, saying Alonso “definitely still has the skills.”
Fernando Alonso has moved to McLaren after winning back-to-back titles with Renault. Bad choices followed.
Therefore, David Coulthard argues that Max Verstappen’s second consecutive victory does not mean that “the Verstappen era” or long-term hegemony has arrived.
“The Verstappen era could end with two titles,” said Coulthard.
“Not because he’s not a good driver, but he might not have the car to win titles in the coming seasons.”
“No one knows in advance.”
But unlike Fernando Alonso, and just as Lewis Hamilton has won six of his seven titles with Mercedes, Verstappen has a long-term contract with Red Bull until 2028.
Category: F1 / Max Verstappen / Red Bull / David Colthard
