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coulthard picks verstappen as best three drivers red bull

Coulthard picks best ever Red Bull drivers: 'It's only natural to pick him'

18 August at 20:00
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  • Ludo van Denderen

It is no secret that David Coulthard is a fan of Max Verstappen. The former F1 driver has never disguised his enjoyment of the Red Bull Racing Dutchman's performance every race. If he had to name the three best drivers of the Austrian team - which is celebrating 20 years of competing in Formula 1 this season - he would come up with a remarkable trio: "Max, Max and Max."

Twenty years back, Coutlhard was the first driver to enter Formula 1 with Red Bull Racing. The team's first seasons were not super; it was only years later that the team developed into a powerhouse of stature. Meanwhile, two drivers have become world champions in a Red Bull car: Sebastian Vettel (4x) and Max Verstappen (3x). So, although the German took more championships for now, Coulthard still puts Verstappen above Vettel on his list.

Coulthard does not want to take anything away from Vettel's achievements but does tell the Dutch branch of Motorsport.com: "If you look at his career as a whole, Seb was not as impressive at the end as when he grabbed his world titles. Look at Michael Schumacher at Mercedes, he too was no longer as impressive in that period as he was in his Ferrari days. It shows that everyone has their own time, but I think it is natural to put Max at one."

Webber chosen over Ricciardo

According to Coulthard, Mark Webber deserves to be third in the list of best Red Bull drivers of all time. So not Daniel Ricciardo, as he was more of a "boy man" and his compatriot a "man man". Moreover, Ricciardo decided not to compete with Verstappen at the time, opting instead to move to Renault.