Brundle admires Verstappen's style: 'He lets others make mistakes'

Max Verstappen is 'only' 24 years old and already on his way to his second world title. The Dutchman's calm demeanour at the moment, risk-free but always effective and faultless, suggests that racing is no trouble at all for him.

In the past, English media were critical of Verstappen. But criticism has also turned to admiration in England. It was common knowledge that Verstappen was fast. He now combines that pure speed with a maturity. "I really believe him when he says that anything is a bonus now he’s become world champion," says Martin Brundle on Sky Sports. "I think whilst just under the surface there’s still an angry driver - it’s part of his make-up - he’s learnt to control that and play more of a patient game I would say, leave others to make mistakes."

Burn out

So Verstappen is still relatively young. The question is how many years he can act at his current level. "I don’t even think we’ve seen the best of Max yet," says Johnny Herbert. Martin Brundle adds: ""With these younger drivers, it’s when they burn out."

Former racing driver Brundle - who raced with Jos Verstappen - finds it incredible that Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso are not burned out and still competitive at a later age. But he expects some of the current generation of youngsters to be burned out at some point. "But we’ll see with Max, how long he can keep that intensity up. But I also sense it’s so much easier for him now, it’s not even taking that much out of him."