‘You still have to deliver’: Häkkinen sees echo in Verstappen’s dominance

The 1998 and 1999 world champion says the Red Bull car’s superiority should not diminish the Dutchman’s achievements

Given the self-assured poise with which Max Verstappen secured his third Formula One world championship this season, the Dutchman has almost made this complex and intensely demanding sport look effortless. Verstappen, it appears, has sashayed through 2023 delivering win, after win, after win, inexorable, untouchable. Yet despite the glacial calm, the elegant composure, the great drivers are still paddling furiously beneath the surface.

Now the title is secure after the sprint race on Saturday in Qatar, considerations of Verstappen’s achievement are under way. Naysayers point at his utterly dominant Red Bull car and of the challenge by his teammate Sergio Pérez going gently into the night. Valid observations but both are somewhat uncharitable given quite how good Verstappen has been this year.

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