"I feel like he just is able to go that extra mile": Max Verstappen is heavily favored to win the 2023 F1 title

F1 presenter Natalie Pinkham feels Max Verstappen will dominate the rest of the season and will not let his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez win his maiden world championship.

Though the Mexican is driving brilliantly and has one of the best starts of an F1 season, Pinkham still feels the Dutchman will do anything to defend his crown.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Pinkham initially praised Checo but immediately explained how ruthless and relentless Max Verstappen is. She believes that he will keep putting pressure on Perez and try to win every wheel-to-wheel battle, every qualifying session, and every race.

The F1 presenter said:

"I feel like Perez... he's a great driver, no doubt but I feel that various things have to go in his way in order for him to secure victory. I feel like Max wrestles victory from the jaws of defeat. I feel like he just is able to go that extra mile. Play this back to be at the end of the season if I'm wrong but I will be flabbergasted if Checo won the championship."

Pinkham went on to explain why she believes that Max Verstappen would come out victorious against Checo. She stated that if Verstappen had fought with some other driver outside his own team, then things could have been different.

Natalie Pinkham concluded:

"To contradict myself slightly, if it was Charles, or indeed Carlos, or Lewis, or George, who was just 14 points behind Max at this stage, we would be saying it's all to play for. I think it's because within the same team that we just assume Max will be number one status and he will run away with it."

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Red Bull advisor not worried about intense rivalry between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez

Red Bull taskmaster Helmut Marko recently shrugged off any concerns over a potential rivalry brewing between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

Both drivers are quite close to each other in terms of points and are currently in the fight for the world championship. However, Dr. Marko does not feel their rivalry will be as intense as that between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber or any other inter-team rivalry.

Marko stressed that both drivers are mature enough and are free to battle it out on track. He said, as per ORF Sport:

“Worried about a repeat of the Vettel-Webber and Verstappen-Ricciardo incidents? Not at all, for now, everything is going well and both were going to the limit. At least Max and Checo can drive freely, as they have done so far. They are two sensible drivers and intelligent enough not to do stupid things in the racetrack."

Max Verstappen currently leads the championship with 119 points while Sergio Perez is right behind him with 105 points.