‘Exceptional’ Verstappen saving ‘struggling’ Red Bull as rivals lurk

In a RacingNews365 exclusive, Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds has hailed Max Verstappen as an "exceptional racing talent", who is keeping a "struggling" Red Bull on top. 

Verstappen leads the drivers' championship by 84 points despite Red Bull having been caught by McLaren and Mercedes in competitiveness. 

After dominating the opening races this season, it had seemed that the Milton Keynes-based team would mirror its record-breaking campaign from last year. Dodds described last season as "painful", with Red Bull having won 21 of the 22 completed races. 

The FE CEO has been pleased to see the resurgence of McLaren, Mercedes and until recently, Ferrari in taking the fight to Red Bull this term.

Six drivers have won a race this year ahead of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, the most since 2021, which has made F1 more exciting to watch in Dodds' eyes.

"I think it's been a much better season so far than last season," Dodds exclusively told RacingNews365. 

"I thought last season was painful to watch, I feel this season started a bit like that. 

"I think the fact that Red Bull have not progressed particularly with its car – Checo is having a very difficult season – and the fact that McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari, although they've hit a bit of a wobble at the moment, have all progressed, I think it's just making a much more interesting sport."

'No contest'

Improvements by Red Bull's rivals is not the only reason why the victories are being shared by more drivers. Whilst the likes of McLaren and Mercedes are continuing to make gains, Red Bull is hitting the top of its development curve. 

It is not so much of a case of the RB20 being a bad car, with it more being the fact Red Bull has extracted almost everything it can from the package. 

Unpredictable races have become more common as a result, as Verstappen is being pushed to his limit to keep the Red Bull ahead in both championships. 

However, whilst F1 is undoubtedly more competitive this season, Verstappen has still won six more races than anybody else, something Dodds believes would be judged as a "no contest" in other sports.

"Saying that, we're 12 races into the F1 season, Max has won seven races. Of the five that have been won by others it's one each for five different people. So in any other sport, that would be a no contest, right?

"If somebody has won seven, and the only other person who's won a race has won one, that would be a no contest. 

"Max is an exceptional racing talent, in and was in an exceptional car and therefore he's made it very predictable.

"I think at the moment, you've got an exceptional racing talent in a car that's struggling to keep its advantage over other cars, which I think makes for a more interesting back of the season."