Jacques Villeneuve: Max Verstappen's dominance steals the show in 2023 Formula 1 season
- Rob Fleming
- 17 October 2023
The 2023 Formula 1 season has been a masterclass in dominance, with Red Bull Racing taking centre stage by clinching 16 out of 17 races.
But according to the 1997 Formula 1 World Champion, Jacques Villeneuve, it's Max Verstappen, not the Red Bull team, who has been the true driving force behind this year's success.
Villeneuve, renowned for his motorsport insights, shared his perspective with Gazzetta dello Sport, challenging the notion that Red Bull are unbeatable. He emphatically declared, "It's wrong to say Red Bull is unbeatable, Max is."
Villeneuve went on to draw a parallel with the era of Mercedes dominance, emphasizing that the German team's supremacy was largely due to their cars being a second faster than the competition. He explained, "There was a fight at that time only because there was a conflict between Mercedes' drivers. Red Bull is not a second faster than the rest of the field. They struggle to grab pole positions, and if they do, it's only by a tenth of a second."
The statistics certainly favour Villeneuve's argument. Max Verstappen has secured a staggering 14 out of those 16 wins, including an unprecedented 10 consecutive victories. Furthermore, Red Bull Racing sealed both the driver's and constructor's championships at the Qatar Sprint race, marking their second consecutive double championship win.
This season, Verstappen's outstanding performance has set him apart from the rest of the field. He has consistently outperformed his teammate, Sergio Perez, who has struggled to find form and has amassed a mere five points in the last three races.
Villeneuve lauded Verstappen's contribution by highlighting that it's the Dutch driver who has consistently grabbed pole positions, not Perez. This disparity, according to Villeneuve, underscores the true potential of this year's Red Bull car. He praised Verstappen by stating, "Verstappen is a beast. He won the titles in the last three years. His car was not the deciding factor."
As the 2023 Formula 1 season races toward its conclusion, the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, promises to be a thrilling spectacle this upcoming weekend. The Circuit of the Americas, spanning 5.5 kilometres, will host this highly anticipated event. The race in Austin is part of Formula 1's ongoing efforts to boost its popularity in the United States.
Excitingly, the American Formula 1 landscape is expanding. Apart from the United States Grand Prix, the Miami Grand Prix is set to make a return, and a new event in Las Vegas is scheduled later in the season.
