Max Verstappen continues his march toward clinching his second world title. Verstappen won his tenth race of the season at the Dutch Grand Prix, giving him 310 points so far this season.
Max Verstappen claimed his skill at the wheel has been crucial to his success this season as he reacted to comments from Lewis Hamilton that his dominance was down to Adrian Newey’s design. Speaking ahead of the weekend, Lewis Hamilton said there was “no surprise” Red Bull was successful with Adrian Newey’s expertise on ground effect cars.
Verstappen agreed his car was a “super important” part of his dominance this season, but his driving skills played a vital role.
During the post-race press conference, Max Verstappen said: “A lot of that is down to the team, of course, as well as how Lewis won his championships.”
“That’s how it goes in Formula One. Your car is super-important, but I think when you’re an exceptional driver, like, of course, Lewis is as well, you make a difference over your teammate at the time, because in very crucial races as well.”
“For example, I think one that stood out as well for him as Turkey when it was very slippery – just staying calm, and not making mistakes. You end up winning a race like that, and that’s what, at the end of the day, good drivers do.”
“They do make a difference compared to other fast drivers, but not as good. So, yeah, the car is very dominant in Formula One, but of course, between teammates, only one can win, and that’s where you have to make the difference. “
Adrian Newey admitted that he was one of the few remaining designers on the grid who had worked on F1’s previous ground-effect rules package in the 1980s.
This knowledge was most likely critical to Red Bull’s design, which has given the team a comfortable lead this season.
