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Former German F1 driver and 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg claims that Red Bull's Max Verstappen is just getting started in the sport. The Dutchman had the best year of his career in 2022, winning his second world title in the sport with a total of 15 wins this season.
Max Verstappen has had more success than he or Red Bull could have hoped for in the 2022 season. The Dutchman won the season with four races remaining, thwarting his opponents in dominant fashion. Ferrari posed a significant title challenge to the 25-year-old in the first half of the season but dropped off soon after due to a string of mechanical and reliability issues.
The Bulls got the 2022 regulation changes right, giving the young driver a good base to build on this year. Rosberg, however, claims that Max Verstappen is just getting started and has a lot more to give to the sport in the coming years. Nico Rosberg told Sky Sports:
"He's an incredible driver. You can really say that he is going to be one of the best drivers of all time. If you look at the statistics, he already is. He is a two-time world champion and has already won more than Fernando Alonso."
The former Mercedes driver added:
"Max is already one of the best of all time in Formula 1 and he's just getting started! In the next decade, he's definitely going to show that. The level he taps is phenomenal and it is wonderful to be able to see that."
Max Verstappen already has his eyes on 2023 title defense
Max Verstappen has already begun laying the foundations for his 2023 F1 title defense by testing next year's tires in Abu Dhabi. The two-time world champion took part in the Pirelli tire test on Tuesday and put in 76 laps in the championship-winning RB18 car.
The Dutchman put in a number of laps on the updated Pirelli tires, trying to get a feel for next year's driving mechanics. However, it must be noted that the Red Bull driver tested the tires on his 2022 car and will not have a clear idea of how next year's tires will behave. Max Verstappen said after the 2022 Pirelli tire test in Abu Dhabi:
"We have completed our programme and have thus laid a first foundation for next year. I think it all went very well. It's always nice to be able to do some laps on a new tyre construction, but of course the tyres behave differently on every track. That's why it's hard to judge. That said, it's always better to have some data than no data. All in all, everything went normally. A good day, then."
2022 was certainly Max Verstappen's year but it will be interesting to see if the Dutchman can maintain his reign of dominance next year.
