F1 | Honda unknown, but this Max Verstappen is ready for the world title

Intemperance, some incorrectness or borderline maneuvers, sometimes excessive aggression. Leaving everything behind and finally growing up. Hitting rock bottom with successive errors at the beginning of the year and then rising again, without stopping, indeed establishing itself, perhaps definitively, as the first thorn in the side of the eternal duelists Hamilton and Vettel.

This, in short, is Max Verstappen, the still very young Red Bull driver, who after having failed by a few centimeters to achieve the record of youngest poleman in history, aims to take away - again from Vettel - that of youngest world champion in Always. At the end of 2019 Max would be just over 22 years old, while Vettel became champion at 23 years of age.

Details, but the honorum course the Dutchman speaks clearly: a constant improvement, a performance that has risen in 2018, allowing him to still be fighting for third place in the world championship with one race to go. It can be said that Verstappen has made very little, if any, mistakes since Canada. Lots of podiums, two peremptory victories (Austria and Mexico) and one missed through no fault of his own (Brazil). Always tough in duels, protagonist despite himself in some still dubious episodes (Suzuka) but also matured in hand-to-hand combat, with the constant of remaining one of the most difficult drivers to overtake, ask Hamilton about the Austin GP, ​​for example.

We also know about his innate speed, about his ability to invent overtaking in the most unthinkable places. It always has been spectacular. The only perplexity, if anything, has always been the temper bordering on the arsonist, the tendency to exaggerate, to overdo it, to persist in counterproductive racing conduct. But it is a trend that has been waning, increasingly vague and distant. In the second part of the season, Verstappen made headlines only for his brilliant performances and results, more rarely for blunders or missteps.

Verstappen's seems like the change of pace that was expected from such a crystal-clear talent, the reversal of trend that can shuffle the cards and alarm his rivals. Toto Wolff, in recent statements, stated that in his opinion Verstappen is still temperamentally raw for the world title, having to smooth out some rough edges. Respectable considerations, but not entirely acceptable if we consider the freshness of the driver and the clarity and consistency of performance in this championship.

The only unknown, a big one, is represented by the competitiveness of the Red Bull-Honda package. If, as they hope in Milton Keynes, the Japanese engine turns out to be superior to the Renault engine then we will see some good things, and it is impossible to dismiss Verstappen a priori from the fight for the top positions by accusing him of immaturity. However, if Honda continues to disappoint, well, for the Dutchman who drags entire crowds to the racetracks, the only chance of victory would be to change colours. Sooner or later…

Antonino Rendina

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