Doornbos: ''Never say never, but the chances of Verstappen are smaller''

Max Verstappen dropped out during the first Grand Prix of 2020. So the driver of Red Bull Racing is already behind and that's not ideal. Robert Doornbos however still sees opportunities for the young Dutchman.

''It's still very difficult to estimate at the moment, because we don't know how many races we'll be racing. If it stays at eight, the chances of Verstappen are lost. However, we have to take fifteen races into account, because FOM has a financial problem with fewer races'', says Doornbos at Nu.nl.

Nevertheless, Doornbos is not entirely reassured about the zero score. ''It still comes in hard. In 2016 you also saw that in the duel between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. Never say never, but the chances of Verstappen are a lot smaller. Mercedes has also improved tremendously and was the fastest all weekend," said Doornbos, who sees the battle mainly between Valtteri Bottas and Hamilton.

"Bottas and Hamilton are the fastest men in the fastest car. In a championship you can't make mistakes and that's something we've seen too often of Bottas so far," says the analyst of Ziggo Sport, who for the time being does not include Ferrari in the fight for the title.

''Red Bull is the main challenger, because Ferrari is not coming at speed. However, reliability is tremendously important. You can be the fastest, but you have to reach the finish line first," concludes the former Formula 1 driver.