Carlos Sainz claims hype for Max Verstappen started well before the Red Bull driver came to F1
Former teammate Carlos Sainz praise the reigning World Champion Max Verstappen and claim his fanbase has always been there since the F3 days.
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Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen (Via Planet F1)
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is now well on way towards claiming his third consecutive World Championship title. The 25-year-old driver has won an astonishing 12 out of the 14 Grands Prix this season. The Dutch driver recently broke the record for most consecutive race wins with his 10th wins in a row at Monza. With his brilliant performance during the races, it is no surprise that Max has a huge fanbase. But his former teammate at Torro Rosso, Carlos Sainz has now claimed that Max’s fan following began long before his F1 debut.
Sainz said in a recent media interaction (as quoted by Formula1.com, “I think if there was something that Max never lacked, it was hype around him.” The Ferrari driver mentioned just how popular Verstappen was, even during his Formula 3 days. He mentioned,“I think he had the hype even well before his debut in Formula 1. When he was in F3, he had already a lot of following. I think his first year in F1, he came in and stormed F1 and had a lot of following behind him.”
Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen were teammates in Max’s first season in Formula 1 as the then-16 year old Verstappen graduated to F1 straight from F3. Max, subsequently became the youngest race winner in Formula 1 the following season as he replaced Daniil Kvyat at Red Bull mid-season in the 2016 World Championship.
Red Bull claims there are only ‘minor’ differences between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez’s set-up
Paul Monaghan is Chief Engineer at Red Bull and he recently claimed there are very slight differences between the two RB-19s provided to Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. Monaghan’s remarks perhaps come as a reply to the suggestions of several fans and F1 pundits alike that Red Bull design their cars to suit Verstappen’s style while snubbing Perez completely.
Despite winning two Grands Prix this season, Sergio Perez is a massive 136 points behind Verstappen as criticism hails heavy on the Mexican driver. Many people have spoken about the gap in performance between the Red Bull teammates, some even alleging that Red Bull is eyeing to change its line-up soon. Checo is signed until the end of the 2024 season, it will be interesting what Red Bull, a team notorious for its line-up changes, do.
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Himanshu Chavan
(232 Articles Published)