What will Lewis Hamilton or Charles Leclerc require to beat Max Verstappen in 2023? F1 pundit has his say

Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer reckons Max Verstappen is becoming more dominant and that his competitors will need to step up their game to beat him.

Hailing his performance in Mexico, Palmer said that the Dutchman displayed a unique skill set and intelligence during the race while managing his tyres. Verstappen won a record 14th race of the season, leaving his competitors trailing in his wake.

Whether it is Charles Leclerc or Lewis Hamilton, the Dutch champion’s competitors will have to drive flawlessly to beat or take the fight to him. Sending a ominous warning to Verstappen's rivals, the British TV pundit said:

“Credit should go to Verstappen for the way he absorbed the early pressure and then optimised his own strategy by ensuring he had plenty of life in the medium tyre. Mexico has always been a low energy track that’s kind on tyres. Red Bull used that to their full advantage, but it still takes the driver to do the job from the cockpit as well."

He continued that the Red Bull man is now the 'complete package':

"Verstappen is looking the complete package right now, and while his victory stats show the extent of his dominance this season, they don’t display the full array of his skillset that we’ve witnessed. For those hoping to take the fight to Verstappen next year, they'll need to be either raising their own game, or banking on the Dutchman taking his eye off the ball after securing title number two, because there's not many chinks in his armour at the moment.”

Verstappen could add to his wins tally at the Brazilian GP this weekend and the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP next week. The Dutchman had wrapped up his second world title at the Japanese GP a few weeks ago, with four races to go.

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F1 should stick to the regular race format instead of sprints - Max Verstappen

Unimpressed with the sprint race format, Max Verstappen feels that the sprint format fails to produce exciting racing due to the tyres that last the entire race distance.

The Dutchman believes drivers tend to drive strategically without taking any risks in a sprint, which makes it less exciting. Speaking to the on-site media at the Mexican GP weekend, the two-time world champion said:

“During every sprint race, I’m like ‘don’t get any damage, make sure you stay in the top three. For me, that’s not really racing because you know there are a lot more points to be earned in the main race. In that, you take a bit more risk."

He continued:

"You have an extra start. That’s exciting. But other than that, it’s only the drivers who are not in their usual position who come to the front because the tyres last a whole race. Then not much happens. I don’t understand what’s wrong with that because we’ve had so many exciting races.”

The Dutchman added that sprint races aren't really 'races' in the strict sense of the term:

“You don’t have to add one third of a race distance. Everyone is so careful because if you make light contact in the fight for P3, for example, and fall back to last place, you know you will have a tough Sunday. You probably won’t take that risk, so it’s not really a race.”

Formula 1 does tend to throw up entertaining races in a season and does not need a sprint format to add to the mix. While sprint racing means extra points for the top three finishers, it's a complicated format to set up a car. The Dutchman has already won two sprints this year and could eye a third in Brazil.