Herbert: Verstappen's Success Might Not Be Good For F1, But We Should Appreciate It

Sunday, 17 March 2024 at 18:00

In one of his most recent interviews, Johny Herbert discussed the current state of Formula 1 and suggested we should enjoy Red Bull and Max Verstappen's dominance.

Red Bull doubted they would be able to retain their dominance after two seasons of immense success. However, the first two races of the 2024 season suggest the team from Milton Keynes has done a fantastic job over the winter.

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez stood on the first two steps of the podium during both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, so it seems safe to say that Red Bull has done a decent job maintaining an advantage over their rivals. Herbert told RacingNews365:

"We're still seeing the incredible Adrian Newey and his team come up with the next best ideas. It's been those little bits they've always been able to find."

Read also

Verstappen's Exit Clause Confirmed: 'Yes, That's Fact'

Ferrari has been perhaps closest to Red Bull, but the Italian team is still about 3-4 tenths off Max Verstappen's race pace behind the wheel of RB20.

"But at least Ferrari has been able to improve on the situation it was in last year when they were quick but they were awful in a race. That now seems to be better, and their strategy so far seems to be better. It's just a little movement in the right direction from a Ferrari point of view."

While the Prancing Horse is on the right trajectory, it seems unlikely that they will be able to change the championship results this season.

"But it's just the wow factor with Max. Everything's working perfectly, and at the present time he's on top of his game, or at least on top of the best we've ever seen from Max. He's confident, he's got no worries, he feels he's unbeatable."

Many fans hope for closer battles for Grand Prix wins and the championship overall, but so far, the 2024 season seems to be heading in a similar direction to 2023.

Verstappen won both of the first two races from pole position without any sort of challenge. Herbert isn't sure whether that is good for F1 but asserts that perfection is also something that needs to be appreciated.

"Is it good for Formula 1? Well, you sort of say no, but you should also enjoy what you're seeing as well - actually we don't see him so much because he has always disappeared!"

"But it is a very special thing for someone to have this skill that he has. In the dry, the wet, or any difficult situation, as we've seen with Lewis (Hamilton) and Fernando (Alonso), you should enjoy it as well. You just hope everybody else will get closer to challenge them, and I think they will."