Max Verstappen's flawless driving attributed to dominant Red Bull car by former teammate

Max Verstappen's former teammate Carlos Sainz feels that the dominant nature of the Red Bull RB19 means it's hard to entice an error out of the Dutch driver. The reigning champion has enjoyed an incredible start to the season.

After the first seven races of the season, Max Verstappen is 53 points ahead of second-placed Sergio Perez in the drivers' championship. He has won five races this season and finished second in the other two, which have also been won by the RB19.

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, who was teammates with Verstappen in 2015 at Toro Rosso, recently told Spanish outlet AS that it was very hard to induce any errors from Max Verstappen because of the dominant nature of Red Bull. He added that Ferrari will still make every possible effort to get wins this season. Sainz said:

“You don’t have to be a genius to know that Red Bull is very difficult to catch this season, which doesn’t mean that Ferrari can’t. We are going to try and this does not mean that we cannot win races. We’ll be on the lookout for a win. It is difficult for Max to be forced into an error with a Red Bull that is so dominant and without pressure.”

"The car Red Bull has made is one of the most dominant": Carlos Sainz praises Max Verstappen's RB19

Talking about the ongoing season, Carlos Sainz admitted things are always relative in F1. Given Max Verstappen's dominant Red Bull RB19 and Mercedes finding the right development direction, things aren't looking good for Ferrari. He said:

"On the sporting side it has been a year that started off in a complicated way. Still, I can’t complain and I’m doing well. Formula 1 is always relative, the car Red Bull has made is one of the most dominant and Mercedes seems to have found the right direction."

Sainz added:

"At Ferrari we are not where we want to be, we are the first to be self-critical and we are working to improve. This is what we have at the moment and we are focused on getting as much out of it as possible.”

Sainz hasn't secured a single podium in the first seven races of the season. Ferrari's 2023 challenger, the SF-23, has been unpredictable and the team hasn't won a race since July last year.