Max Verstappen 'is like a cannibal' - F1 CEO lauds 2022 World Champion

Red Bull star Max Verstappen drew praise from F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, who termed him a 'cannibal' for attacking every race with the same intensity.

In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Domenicali was questioned over the domination of Red Bull and Max Verstappen this season and whether we could see a similar dominant reign for the Dutch driver as we have seen for quite a few other drivers in the past.

The former Ferrari team principal did not think it would happen and he felt one of the biggest reasons that was unlikely was the budget cap. The Austrian team are limited in what they can do financially as well as on their car. Since the 2022 F1 season was the first one with these regulations, Red Bull and Max Verstappen were able to take full advantage of it.

Domenicali did, however, credit Max Verstappen for being the kind of driver that was all on the mark and hence ran away with the title this season. He said:

"With the current regulations, also on an economic level thanks to the budget cap, I expect that many teams will be closer together in this battle, and I expect that teams' winning cycles will be much shorter in duration. Not to take away from the quality of a driver like Verstappen. He is like a cannibal at the moment with full focus on every race."

The F1 CEO further said:

"The level has been very high all year round. The quality of the field is very high across the board. If you look at the differences in qualifying, you see that everyone in the field is at the top level. For example, Alex Albon also contributed some great performances in his Williams."

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The second title is more enjoyable: Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen, on his part, also felt that the second drivers' world championship secured by him this season was far more enjoyable than the first. When asked to compare the two titles, the Red Bull driver said:

"The emotions are very different, but I think they should be anyway, because your whole life you aim for one particular goal, and that's to become a world champion for me in F1, so the first one is always an emotional one once you achieve it."

Verstappen continued:

"But this year has been very different. I do think we were more competitive this year, and more enjoyable with how we performed as a whole team. We won the Drivers, and the Constructors, we had a lot of victories as a team, so I would say this one is better and more rewarding. But the first one will always be more emotional."

Max Verstappen will be defending his title next season and it's safe to say that the competition is going to be more fierce than what he had in the 2022 F1 season.