Former F1 driver Gerhard Berger expressed his thoughts about this year’s championship battle between Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
According to Berger, Max Verstappen’s superb race management and Red Bull’s strategy calls will be crucial in deciding the fate of the championship.
Currently, the Dutchman holds a 38-point advantage over the Monegasque heading into the summer break.
The season started with Leclerc bagging two wins in three races while Verstappen suffered from reliability woes. However, Verstappen struck back with an incredible run of form, winning five races out of six races, making the most of Ferrari’s reliability problems.
Berger predicts Verstappen and Red Bull will be tough to beat
The Austrian gave his opinion on the title fight between Verstappen and Leclerc on the F1 Nation Podcast.
Berger praised Leclerc’s performances in the current season.
“Leclerc has impressed me with his talent, with his speed on one lap in qualifying – he’s doing very, very well,”
Still, Berger believes that the Verstappen and Red Bull combination is too mighty for Leclerc and Ferrari to topple.
“In the racecraft, I have seen a little bit of an advantage to Max. He’s brilliant over the whole race, using every possibility.
“He’s very strong at overtaking, he’s very strong in wheel-to-wheel fighting and he’s very strong at reading the race.
“Combine this with the strategy of Red Bull, who are extremely good, and the good pit-stops of Red Bull… I think it’s nearly an unbeatable package.”
said Berger.
Berger also noted that Red Bull have the experience of being in a championship battle from last when they went toe to toe with Mercedes. Therefore, Red Bull is used to the pressure of being involved in a championship fight. Verstappen also has the burden of being a champion off of his shoulders.
“I think Verstappen is even better than last year. When you win a world title, it takes a lot of pressure off.”
Berger concludes.
Ferrari, on the other hand, does not have a recent experience in a title fight. The last time they were involved in a championship battle was back in 2018 with Sebastian Vettel behind the wheel. Ferrari infamously crumbled under pressure that season and were out-developed and out-raced by Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton to the title.
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