‘Verstappen is unbeatable, not Red Bull’, says 1997 champion Villeneuve

Verstappen has won 14 of the 17 races in F1 2023, with Red Bull winning all but one of them.

It has allowed Verstappen to win his third consecutive drivers’ title, while the Dutchman is set to move ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Alain Prost in the all-time F1 winners list.

Even though Verstappen has excelled, teammate Sergio Perez has struggled.

Perez only finished 10th in Qatar after picking up three separate penalties for track limits.

On the other hand, Verstappen dominated the race without picking up one single track limit violation.

The Canadian thinks Verstappen is making the difference, not Red Bull.

“It is wrong to say Red Bull is unbeatable, Max is. One has to remember that Mercedes was a second faster than the rest when they dominated,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“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 at all, it’s by a tenth of a second.

“Verstappen has taken the poles, not Perez. The Mexican is much further back each time, which shows the level of the car.

“Verstappen is a beast. He won the titles in the last three years. His car was not the deciding factor.”