Coulthard sees little difference between Ferrari and Red Bull: 'A Max factor'

F1 News

11 May 2022 at 18:06
Last update 11 May 2022 at 19:13
  • GPblog.com

According to former Red Bull Racing driver David Coulthard, Max Verstappen deserves praise for the way he drives. The Scot finds it rather easy to say that Red Bull had the faster car at the Miami Grand Prix.

During qualifying in Miami, Verstappen didn't get further than P3, but during the race he quickly passed the two Ferraris. According to several experts, Red Bull simply had the faster car on Sunday, but Coulthard thinks there is more to it.

"I don’t think there is a big difference in the actual cars. Checo Perez was not that far behind Max on-track, he doesn’t deliver that last little bit of pace Max does, so yes there is a Max factor. But I think it’s not as easy as saying ‘the Red Bull is the quicker car’", he says on Channel 4.

Pressure on Verstappen was high

After Lando Norris' crash, Verstappen lost his lead to Charles Leclerc because of the safety car. After the restart, the Ferrari driver stayed within the DRS of the Dutchman, but despite the pressure, Verstappen managed to keep the Monegasque behind him.

"The pressure on Max in that situation was off the scale. This was a hard race, which I loved to see. And I think that Max really drove like the World Champion he is, had that been a younger Max or a lesser Max, then I think Charles probably could have got the pass done", ends the former Formula One driver.