For Sky Sports analyst's former team, Verstappen wasn't champion material

15:34, 28 Apr

byNorberto Mujica

Former performance and senior strategist engineer, Bernie Collins, has said 'people' at Force India, now Aston Martin, did not think Max Verstappen had it in him to become world champion.

As fate would have it, it turns out Verstappen, now a 4-time world champion, did indeed have it in him to, not only win a title, but ruthlessly dominate the series and to win even when the odds are stacked against him.

'Force India did not see a champion in Verstappen'

Helmut Marko knew it from the moment he laid eyes on him: Verstappen was a generational talent. Many experts, including the late great Niki Lauda, believed the Dutchman was a scintillating driver. But according to Collins, currently an analyst for Sky Sports, 'her team' didn't see it.

In the Indo Sport Podcast she revealed that 'people at her team' were skeptical on Verstappen's chances of ever becoming world champion.

"The Max of old a few years ago, there was a time when people said – I heard people at the team when I was working at the time – Max will never be world champion. He was making a lot of mistakes, he was crashing the car, he was very aggressive, not putting the best together."

'Verstappen has matured tremendously'

However, Collins, albeit very critical of Verstappen still, sees how much the Dutch driver has evolved to become the 'great driver' she believes him to be today.

"It’s easy to forget that there was a time when people thought ‘he’s not going to win’ because he wasn’t getting the best out of the car. Now he’s matured to the point of being calm, not being aggressive, not crashing with other drivers. He has brought it together, and that’s what’s making him a great driver."