Verstappen’s dominance
The internal comparison in Red Bull between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez it definitely rewarded the Dutchman, and not only for the victory of the third world title by the man who, for some, is already considered the best driver of all time. If you look at the statistics, the Mexican has in fact won two races against Verstappen’s 19, but he has also been the protagonist of errors that have put its place at risk for 2025all while having landed the role of vice-champion. A ‘double’ in the Drivers’ standings that the Milton Keynes team had never achieved before in its history.
Nobody on the level of the Dutchman
Perez was therefore heavily criticized for his performances, by the Team Principal himself Christian Horner which did not officially guarantee the permanence of Czech in the future, but another former Team Principal instead took the defense of the winner of 6 GPs in his career. It’s about Franz Tostwho ended his experience in AlphaTauri and Formula 1 this year. Interviewed by RacingNews365the 67-year-old Austrian doesn’t see the need for a change at Red Bull: “It doesn’t matter who is next to Verstappen, because I believe he is simply the fastest in F1 – has explained – It depends on the team’s philosophy. Red Bull wants to win the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships, and therefore we need to find the best possible combination. I think the one they have now is very good, because Max is clearly the leader of the team. She is faster than Perez, but Perez is fast enough to finish second in the championshipand Red Bull won the constructors’ championship. So what more do you want? They have to have peace in the team, because it’s clear who is dominating.”
The first memories
Nel podcast Beyond the GridTost also recalled the 2015when he decided to promote Verstappen to AlphaTauri (then known as Toro Rosso) when the Dutchman was only 17: “This incredible natural speed was sometimes seen even in Formula 3 – he recalled – a wet race at the Norisring comes to mind. I thought Max was riding in the dry, because he was two seconds faster than the others. He reminded me of Michael Schumacher when he won a Formula Ford race at the Salzburgring. Similar conditions and he too, on every lap, was two or three seconds faster than the others. I wanted to see what that driver was doing with our car. We had done the test in Italy and he immediately felt comfortable with the car. He immediately adapted to the speed, the brakes, everything. This was the big advantage for Max. Other riders need ten laps, 20 laps, 100 laps, before adapting to everything, while he had everything under control.”
The debut
Hence, the decision to make his debut in Circusnot without some criticism: “We said: ‘Ok, he should do free practice at Suzuka’. Then his colleagues have come to tell us that we are completely crazy, which is one of the most difficult slopes. He went out and did his job without any problems. Then the second was, I think, in Sao Paulo. I don’t remember the exact curve, but he oversteered. He lost his mind a little, but got the car back without any problems. He wasn’t surprised by the speed, he had everything under control.”.
