Admiration for champion: 'Verstappen left everyone speechless'

Record after record tumbled: Max Verstappen was the man in Formula 1 in 2023. Overwhelmingly, the Dutchman won his third world title. In Abu Dhabi last weekend, he gave the season a fitting finale, winning the final Grand Prix of the season in sublime fashion. Timo Glock, himself a former F1 driver and now an analyst at Sky Sports, is actually no longer surprised.

In his column at the German sports channel, Glock writes about Verstappen: "He just left everyone speechless this year. It feels like Verstappen achieved every record and every superlative possible. He was the driver who made no mistakes at all. The team also did an excellent job, there were no technical problems at all. It's just incredible how good Red Bull is."

Glock expects dominance Red Bull in '24

According to Glock, Verstappen drove his races at an unprecedented high level. Therefore, the German stated, "If you can't call him an icon already now, it will definitely happen in the coming years. I can well imagine Red Bull being ahead again next year, because they were able to focus on the new car early on. Especially thanks to Verstappen, who grabbed a big lead. Incredible in every respect and simply outstanding."

Glock saw Mercedes take second place in the constructors' championship outside an excelling Verstappen. Ferrari briefly had hopes that a tactical move in the closing stages of the Grand Prix would ensure the Italians finished second after all, but it was not to be. "The Scuderia did not lose second place to Mercedes during the season finale, but it did in many other races where there were problems," Glock is critical of Ferrari's performance.