'Verstappen, not Norris, becomes world champion due to his mentality'

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F1 Max Verstappen becomes world champion according to Giedo van der Garde
18 September at 11:00
Last update 18 September at 11:02
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  • Olly Darcy
  • Editor

Max Verstappen has a 59-point lead to defend over Lando Norris for the final seven races of the season. McLaren has already overtaken Red Bull in the constructors' world championship, but the team will no doubt be hoping for more. But Giedo van der Garde thinks the world title is for Verstappen after all.

Van der Garde thinks Verstappen, despite Red Bull's current form, will 'just' come out on top, he told the DRS The Race Show podcast. "Max is going to be the world champion. He is obviously going to pull out all the stops. If there is no more in it than there is in it now, he will become the world champion purely on mentality. He has experience. He knows how to win the title."

Van der Garde on running Norris off the track

"What do you think if you go into the last race for the points, and you are ahead, and you fight each other, what happens?" asked Van der Garde. He would not readily admit that Verstappen then drives Norris off the track. "I don't say that one two three, but if it really has to happen, and suppose it's about the world title if it had been me, he would have been full remote," the 39-year-old Dutchman concluded.

The recent Grands Prix have not been pleasant for Red Bull in recent weeks. Points were often lost by the Austrian constructor. Damon Hill already noticed a kind of resignation from Verstappen. The Englishman wondered whether the Dutchman's future would not already be settled, as he remained remarkably calm over the radio.

This article was written in collaboration with Estéban den Toom 

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