Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur believes the fact Max Verstappen has raced error-free over the past two years has been the most impressive trait of his current era of dominance in F1.
Since the introduction of new aerodynamic regulations at the start of last season, Verstappen has taken a stranglehold on F1 and shows no sign of relinquishing his grip any time soon.
The statistics bear remarkable reading as he has not only set a new record for consecutive victories with 10 in a row, but has won 20 of the last 24 races, and 27 of 34 stretching back to the start of last season.
Through it all, it is hard to recall a single error, not just in a race, but be it in practice or qualifying.
Reflecting on Verstappen’s achievement of 10 successive wins, Vasseur looked at the overall bigger picture.
“What is impressive is that, for sure, they (Red Bull) have always had mega pace,” said Vasseur.
“From Monaco to Monza, covering all aspects of every track, they have performed.
“But what is most impressive for me is that Max – and not just in the last 10 races but over the last two years – hasn’t made a single mistake.
“For sure, it’s easier not to make a mistake when you have a margin over the others, but even in these kinds of circumstances, he is able to manage the situation very well.”
Referencing last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in which he displayed maturity in biding his time before picking his moment to overtake early race leader Carlos Sainz in his Ferrari, Vasseur added: “He put some pressure on Carlos but never too much, he didn’t take risks.
“He knew he had a difference in pace, and he was convinced that if it (overtaking) was not possible during the first stint, it would be around the pitstop.
“I was not very confident in the fight with Max after lap 10. When I saw the pace was there and they had no degradation, I thought it would be quite difficult.
“But overall, in these kinds of races, it’s where he has been the most impressive, not making a single mistake.
“Over two seasons, that’s just mega.”
At a unique low-downforce circuit, Ferrari gave Red Bull and Verstappen arguably their toughest time of the year.
After missing out on pole position, Verstappen then came up against stout defensive work from Sainz who kept the two-time champion at bay for 15 laps before a slight lock-up through the first chicane opened the door just wide enough for the Dutchman to make his race-defining move.
Although no other track of the eight remaining this year bears the same characteristics as Monza, Vasseur has not given up hope his team can at least provide Red Bull with an equally as robust a challenge as it did on home soil.
“After a weekend like we had, you can say we are not that far away in terms of pace, one or two-tenths (of a second), not much more, to stay in front,” said Vasseur.
“But it is like it is, they are still in front. and neither driver is making a mistake, as they did last weekend.
“I was expecting that putting Max under pressure he might make a mistake but that was not the case.
“Let’s try again, let’s be a bit more performant, to stay closer to Red Bull.
“It will be the best way to fight and put them a little bit more under pressure.”
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