F1 News

Danner praises Verstappen: 'The perfection is a positive surprise'

Former driver praises Verstappen: 'See it as surprise, recognise the achievement'

20 August 2023 at 10:55
Last update 20 August 2023 at 11:08
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  • Sam Godber

Former F1 driver Christian Danner sees the perfection with which Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing are operating this season as the most positive surprise of 2023 so far. In an interview with the German Motorsport-Magazin, Danner says that, in his opinion, there should be sheer admiration for the Dutchman's performance.

'See this as a positive surprise, acknowledge performance'

Red Bull Racing won the first 12 races of the season, with Max Verstappen claiming victory in 10 Grands Prix. Danner also sees this and admits Verstappen is the man to beat in Formula 1 at the moment. He begins, "You just can't ignore Max Verstappen. We knew he is terribly good, that Red Bull is terribly good. Whether you like it that the same driver always wins or not, this has to be seen as a positive surprise and we have to recognise this achievement."

The German especially sees the absolute perfection shown by Red Bull and Verstappen this season:"The performance of the team, the pit stops, the flawless preparation, a super strategy and of course the performance of the driver. In some situations it is forgotten how good they actually are."

Perfection Verstappen impressive

Danner therefore finds the Dutchman's performance the most positive surprise of the first half of the season. The former driver sees that Verstappen did not always get every win on a silver platter, but also stresses that the Red Bull driver has had to deal with minor breakdowns several times this season. "He didn't always win everything from the sweet spot [pole position], he sometimes had to start further back and he was also ill in one case. However, he came out of it very professional and competent, which was definitely a positive surprise."