Herbert expresses concern for Verstappen: 'Norris could have beaten him then too'
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- Cas van de Kleut
Max Verstappen has had a difficult season at Red Bull Racing. Although the Dutchman became champion, the performance of his RB20 dwindled during the season. Although in the end, he finished off the season with two wins in the last four races, Johnny Herbert doubts whether Red Bull will be able to beat the other top teams in 2025.
Since the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing did not seem to have the fastest car. On the contrary, when the team made upgrades, the car lost balance. For Verstappen, then, this was a difficult phase. Despite a fairly comfortable lead in the championship, he had to watch as the other teams pushed their cars in the right direction.
In the end, Verstappen became champion, but the turmoil within Red Bull and disappointing performances did spark rumours about the Dutchman's future. In the end, the four-time world champion turned down Mercedes' attempts to contract him. Yet the rumours surrounding his departure from Red Bull have not stopped, with noise being raised last week around that Aston Martin was breaking the piggy bank to offer Verstappen a whopping €1.19 billion to come drive for them.
Herbert on Verstappen and Red Bull Racing
Herbert was asked by Casinoutanspelpaus.io whether Verstappen will leave if Red Bull no longer has the best car. To this, the steward replied, "The positive thing for Red Bull is how they finished the season. They finished quite strong honestly and they were a force to be reckoned with. But as we saw, Lando Norris was still able to beat Verstappen."
Herbert then referred to statements from people within Red Bull, who claimed that the problem had been found. However, the steward himself was not convinced by the statements from within the Red Bull team, having heard the same from Mercedes before.
The Briton therefore continued, "Red Bull still has a good base. I just don't know if they are as strong as McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari, who now have Lewis Hamilton. I think there is a little twist coming in who is going to be the best."
'Verstappen won't become even more aggressive'
Red Bull's disappointing performance meant that Verstappen occasionally had to get his elbows out to fend off his rivals. Herbert, an FIA Steward who punished Verstappen for his actions in Mexico, doesn't think the Dutchman will become even more aggressive: "I think the amount of aggression we are seeing at the moment is probably the most we will see. It is bullying from Verstappen, which to some extent is similar to Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Nigell Mansell, Mika Hakkinen and Sebastian Vettel. All these special drivers have the ability to shine, even when the going gets tough."
This article was written in collaboration with Norberto Mujica.
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