"He is very strong on overtaking, very strong in wheel-to-wheel fighting"- Max Verstappen in Red Bull is an 'unbeatable package,' feels former F1 driver

Max Verstappen got the nod of approval from former Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger. The Austrian feels the Red Bull driver is better now compared to last season. Joining the weekly edition of the F1 Nations podcast, Berger talked about both the title protagonists. He concluded that Max Verstappen and the team he has behind him is "unbeatable". Comparing the two drivers, he said:

“Leclerc has impressed me with his talent. With his speed on one lap in qualifying – he’s doing very, very well. In the racecraft, I have seen a little bit of advantage to Max. He is brilliant over the whole race. To use every possibility, he is very strong on overtaking, very strong in wheel-to-wheel fighting. He is very strong at reading the race."

“Combined with the strategy of Red Bull, who are extremely good, the good pitstops, I think it’s nearly an unbeatable package. In saying this, maybe the Ferrari has, in certain circumstances, a little bit of advantage and Leclerc is using it very well. He’s a super quick driver, super good."

Max Verstappen and Red Bull have advantage of fighting for the title last season

Berger specifically pointed out the questionable reliability of Ferrari as one of the factors that could swing things in favor of Max Verstappen. He talked about how the throttle issue that Charles Leclerc faced in Austria could have led to a DNF, costing him valuable points.

According to Berger, Ferrari still need a year or two before they are ready to win championships:

“But, with the technical reliability issues they are having sometimes, you will see [Carlos] Sainz maybe taking points away as could have happened in the last race with the throttle issue. Sainz would have had the chance to win the race, and then this starts hurting them very much for the championship."

“So, with the position they’re in at the moment, I think they can take one or two years until the team is ready again to win the championship. That’s a normal procedure. [Anything] can happen and maybe the car is so good, they could win the championship already this year. But, if they really have to fight, Red Bull has an advantage from last year’s fighting for the championship.”

Max Verstappen leads Charles Leclerc in the championship by 38 points heading into the French GP.