max verstappen He is the great favorite for 2023. The big question is if he will have a rival for the title. Will Mercedes and Ferrari reach their level? There are the names of Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc… and maybe the Spanish one Carlos Sainz.
Juan Pablo Montoya, a former Formula 1 driver, believes that there may be a big battle between the two Ferrari drivers. “Honestly, I think Carlos Sainz can also do a great job if he has a good feeling in the car. If you look at the last year with the old cars, Carlos was regularly in front of Charles”he stated in ‘Motorsport’.
“So it depends a lot on how comfortable the driver feels in the car. For example, Max wasn’t completely comfortable in the car at the start of last season, but Checo was able to handle it well,” insists Montoya.
Delving into Leclerc’s possibilities, he believes that he is not at Verstappen’s level: “I don’t think Charles is on the same level as Max.”
“I think Charles is a very good pilot, but Max has more experience. Max has also won more races and has already won some championships, so there is much less pressure on him,” says the former Colombian driver in these statements.
For Montoya, Dutch is the clear favorite also this course: “That makes it much easier for Max to become world champion than for Charles, who is still going for his first title.”
“What Verstappen needs”
“That’s where the team comes in. Red Bull knows exactly what Max needs and how to improve the car for him. And that’s what I like so much. Red Bull has always been very good for progress with a car“, Montoya explains about the Red Bull team.
Red Bull became constructors’ champion again many years later. And with an advantage of more than 200 points over Ferrari.
