Jolyon Palmer explains why he likes Max Verstappen's 'honesty' as compared to how Mercedes conducted itself when it dominated F1

F1 commentator and presenter Jolyon Palmer recently praised Max Verstappen for being brutally honest about Red Bull's unprecedented performance in the 2023 F1 season. The Dutchman believes that his team could win every single race, though he is well aware that every race weekend cannot be perfect for them.

Speaking on F1 TV during the second practice session of the 2023 F1 Spanish GP, Palmer spoke about how he likes Max Verstappen's honesty. He appreciated the fact that the 25-year-old is not deliberately downplaying his chances of winning and dominating. He compared this to how Mercedes used to sandbag even when they were extremely dominant.

The F1 commentator said:

"I don't know about you, but I kind of like Max's honesty with it all as well. So often, I'm used to hearing Mercedes when they had a dominant car be like, 'No, every race is a danger, every race they will catch us up. You know, the tires are gone and each race has its own jeopardy.'

"Whereas Verstappen...I kind of admire the fact that he turned up to Miami and said, 'Look, bad race here and I'll finish second, good race and I'll win.'"

He added:

"And he's just really bullish about what he could do and saying, 'Yeah we can win every race, we probably won't, but we can.' They have got that good a car."

There is, of course, a massive chance that Red Bull could win almost all the races in 2023. However, even the reigning world champion knows that there are several variables that could go wrong, which will give other teams a golden opportunity to take a race victory.

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Max Verstappen on Red Bull's chances of winning every race in the 2023 F1 season

Max Verstappen recently claimed that Red Bull could win every single race if everything went perfectly for the reigning world champions. However, he is also well aware that they most likely won't since there are several variables that could go sideways for them throughout the season. He also reckons that other teams will be improving drastically and will challenge him and his team for the win.

At the drivers' press conference prior to the Spanish GP, Max Verstappen said:

"Well, how it looks like at the moment, I think we can, but that's very unlikely to happen. You know, there are always things that go wrong, or you have, you know, a retirement or whatever. But, like purely on pace, I think at the moment, it looks like that. But we will always get to tracks maybe where it doesn't work out exactly, or whatever, bad luck in Qualifying, you make your own mistakes."

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are the only two driver who have won races in the 2023 F1 season so far. Though there are high chances that Fernando Alonso could also steal a race victory for himself, even he admits that it is highly unlikely.