Ex-F1 driver SNUBS Sebastian Vettel to name the best Red Bull F1 driver

David Coulthard asserted that Sebastian Vettel was not the best driver to have raced for Red Bull despite his four world titles.

Ex-F1 driver SNUBS Sebastian Vettel to name the best Red Bull F1 driver

Sebastian Vettel (via IMAGO)

Sebastian Vettel drove for multiple teams during his 14-year career, but Red Bull stands out as his ultimate success. He raced with the Austrian team for seven years and won the World Championship four times. He was crowned champion for the first time in 2010 and continued this success till 2013. Despite this, former Red Bull driver David Coulthard did not include Vettel in his top three list of the best Red Bull drivers.

David Coulthard was asked about the top three best racers within Red Bull, and he jokingly claimed that only Max Verstappen is the best in Milton Keynes. Earlier, Helmut Marko also claimed the Dutchman as a more natural driver than the German. However , the 53-year-old explained why he placed Verstappen over the four-time-world-champion Sebastian Vettel. He acknowledged that Vettel’s performance didn’t remain as strong throughout his career. The German was exceptionally impressive when he won his titles, but his performance declined towards the end of his career.

That has to be Max, Max and Max. You can't take anything away from Seb's four world titles, but if you look at his career as a whole, Seb was no longer as impressive at the end as when he won his world titles.
David Coulthard told nl.motorsport.com
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David Coulthard compared Vettel’s decline in performance to Michael Schumacher‘s time at Mercedes. He noted that Schumacher wasn’t as impressive with Mercedes as he had been during his successful years with Ferrari. This comparison highlighted that every driver has their peak period, and performance can change over time. Therefore, based on current achievements Max Verstappen deserves to be recognized as the top driver at Red Bull.

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Look at Michael Schumacher at Mercedes , he was also no longer as impressive in that period as he was in his Ferrari time. It shows that everyone has their own time, but I think it is obvious to put Max first.
David Coulthard added.
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David Coulthard believes F1 drivers are not loyal to any team

David Coulthard highlighted that Formula 1 drivers cannot always be expected to stay loyal to their teams. He pointed out that every driver has moments where they move to a different team after achieving success. Same was the case with Vettel, he signed with Ferrari while he was still under contract with Red Bull. He used a special clause in his agreement to make that switch. Hence, DC believed that this is an unchangeable nature of F1 drivers of not being loyal to a particular team.

David Coulthard
David Coulthard(via IMAGO)
These guys have all come through the team and celebrated successes. Seb signed with Ferrari with love by using a clause in his contract, when he was still under contract. So none of these F1 drivers are loyal.
David Coulthard stated.

Therefore, David Coulthard emphasized that drivers often move teams based on their career opportunities, and it’s unrealistic to expect them to remain with one team out of loyalty. F1 drivers prioritize career over being loyal to the teams that helped them achieve success.

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