General
Coulthard: 'That's the only thing standing between Verstappen and the world title'
- GPblog.com
It is sometimes hard to imagine that 23-year old Max Verstappen is in his seventh season in Formula 1. He already has more F1 experience than his father for example. David Coulthard, a contemporary of Jos, thinks Verstappen is 'more than ready' to become world champion.
Verstappen is dependent on two external factors: The speed and reliability of the car Red Bull Racing builds for him. In that respect too, everything seems to be falling into place for the Dutchman in 2021. The RB16B is certainly the fastest car Red Bull has ever given Verstappen and reliability also seems to be in order, although you can never be entirely sure.
"The only thing that I think can stand in the way of Max and Red Bull Racing really taking this championship is the racing Gods maybe getting involved in a few things with reliability because he is definitely experienced enough, he is definitely mature enough, which at 23 seems incredible but he is ready. He is more than ready," the Scot told the Daily Mail.
Hamilton faces big challenge
But he will have to beat Lewis Hamilton, who for the first time in a long time will have to battle it out with a car at least equal to his own. Coulthard doesn't believe Hamilton will mind.
"I think Lewis has been well served during his career to have, more often than not, great cars. So I don’t think at any point can he go 'life isn’t fair, why isn't my car the fastest'. He has had a lot of that. I think he would never complain about that," Coulthard said.