“He’s exceptional”: Max Verstappen’s former teammate justifies his immense F1 success 

Max Verstappen is a four-time world champion and has partnered up with seven different teammates over his F1 career, who have often talked highly of the Dutchman. Despite being sacked for his inferior performance in comparison to the reigning world champion, former Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez revealed that he wishes success for the 27-year-old due to his exceptional racing talent.

Verstappen made his debut in 2015 in Toro Rosso (now Racing Bulls) and partnered up with Carlos Sainz. After a strong rookie season, he was promoted to the senior team mid-way through the 2016 season and showcased his prowess on the racing track.

In the following years, he emerged as the lead driver at the team and appeared as an "F1 career killer" for many as his teammates struggled to score points, while he claimed race victories. This trend seemingly ended Perez's racing career as the Mexican had scored almost one-third of the points of the Dutchman, leading Red Bull to sack him in favor of junior drivers.

Though his F1 stint at Red Bull came to a premature end due to his performance delta to Verstappen, Sergio Perez said on Desde el Paddock how the Dutchman is exceptional and no one can counter this ability on the racetrack:

"I have very good friends at Red Bull and people may think I enjoy what's happening now, but no. The truth is that Max Verstappen deserves all the success he has. He's an incredible driver and very few people understand how he works. He's exceptional."

On the other hand, Max Verstappen sits third in the drivers' championship standings with a 43-point deficit to leader, Oscar Piastri.

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Max Verstappen is still in the fight for the 2025 drivers' title

Max Verstappen at the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of Canada - Source: Getty

Max Verstappen had to mount a stern title defense in the latter half of the 2024 season to keep Lando Norris away from snubbing away his fourth drivers' title. While he was successful at keeping the Briton at bay last year, this year, the issue has been compounded with the addition of Oscar Piastri into the mix.

This has allowed the Aussie driver to muster a 43-point lead over the reigning champion, and many have already ruled out Verstappen for his fifth title hopes. But, famous F1 commentator, Martin Brundle, is not onboard this train as he said on Sky Sports F1:

"He’s not out of the title fight at all... If he gets beaten by George [Russell] one weekend, Oscar [Piastri] the next weekend and Lando [Norris] the weekend after that, it almost doesn't matter, if he's second or third. He will nick some great wins, like we have already seen twice, and will always somehow pull a podium out of the bag as well. If his rivals start sharing out wins among themselves, he's right in there."

Meanwhile, the next F1 race will take place at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, a track where the Dutchman has often dominated in contemporary times.