maltaseagull
Well-known member
Saw an interview with Max where he sort of said it was inevitable he would take over as the dominant driver / WDC at some stage, whether this year or next year or after, as the older drivers (ie Lewis) will inevitably retire.
I get that LH will call it a day eventually (but can do another 10 years at least - but I’m not convinced Max will necessarily take over.
Based on Merc dominance of recent years I would think George Russell plus whoever ends up taking LH’s seat when he goes have a strong chance, and there are other decent young drivers now with experience- Leclerc, Sainz, Lando. With the new car regs next year I think they all have a decent chance.
Max does have one unique advantage- he drives for a big team with a fast car where the team tends to work for a No. 1 driver, with the No. 2 just there to support. That probably will inevitably help him take a disproportionate haul of points and could help him win the WDC to be fair. I do think he’s a decent driver but I think it remains to be seen how he competes with the rest of they have similar machinery / speed. Plus he remains impetuous and I don’t think that necessarily helps you win a WDC as that is a marathon not a sprint and can require some patience and tactical cautious driving.
Looking forwards- Red Bull surely could suffer from Honda quitting F1 - Red Bull taking over the engine development which is a new task for them, they will be the only F1 team trying to do that, every team who are not using the ‘Red Bull’ engine will have the backing and experience of a big manufacturer. Surely they will have to keep Honda involved somehow, it’s just to big a task for them?
Nah!
Horner will find some part of the rules that finds all other cars are illegal and therefore Red Bull win everything!