'Tall order to match combination of Red Bull and Verstappen'
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Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing are dominating the 2023 season. With five races to go, both world titles have already been won and there was also little doubt throughout the season who the titles would go to. Damon Hill praised the performance of the Dutchman and Red Bull.
'Red Bull and Verstappen close to perfection'
Seventeen Grands Prix have been held so far in 2023 and of these, no fewer than sixteen were won by the Austrian outfit. Max Verstappen alone has won fourteen races this season, already coming close to the F1 record of fifteen race wins in a single season, which incidentally is already in Verstappen's name. According to Hill, it will take a lot to beat the dominant unit next year.
"They've got a tall order in order, to match or overturn the Red Bull combination with Max Verstappen driving, they've come close to perfection this season, they really have and, they've broken a lot of records, that have stood for a long time. They seem unstoppable. So, you would need to achieve perfection to be able to beat them," Hill told Sky Sports.
Among other things, Verstappen and Red Bull broke records for longest win streaks this season. Red Bull ended up winning 15 races in a row (the last in 2022 and the first 14 in 2023). The previous record was held by McLaren with 11 consecutive wins. That record was set in 1988. Verstappen ended up winning 10 races in a row, breaking Sebastian Vettel' s record from 2013, who won nine races in a row.
What makes Verstappen so good?
According to Hill, father Jos Verstappen has also been very important to the success of the now three-time world champion. "I think there's, he's a new breed of driver or relatively new breed of driver, whereby they started very young. And of course, in Max's case, his father was a Formula One driver. So he had a Formula One driver with all his experience, Jos Verstappen coaching him and, and giving him all the, the right direction," the one-time world champion continued.
In addition, Hill also sees that Verstappen has become much more mature. "He's got the most extraordinary talent. He's got a good head on his shoulders and he's mature. I mean, I think, he's come into formula one age 17-16, I think it was, he couldn’t [not having a license yet] drive a road car and was volatile and quick and he's managed to combine that youth and speed with experience now," the Briton concluded.