RB16B designer about Verstappen: 'Hasn't made any mistakes this year'

“His driving ability is obviously superb, and he’s matured into a great racer. He’s really not made any mistakes this year," Newey told Formula 1's official website. Some Sunday's went a lot worse for Verstappen, however, such as Baku, Silverstone and Hungary, but Newey says "that was not his fault, but he’s kept his head and bounced back from all of those."

With 187 points, Verstappen is currently eight points behind World Championship leader Lewis Hamilton. With 12 Grands Prix to go, that's a new situation for the 23-year-old Dutchman. In recent years, Red Bull Racing have not been competitive enough to fight for the title, and Verstappen has had to rely on a few one-off victories. But, Newey doesn't think this pressure will affect him much in 2021.

"He’s very easy to chat to and has a wide range of interests, which I think is very important for an F1 driver. If your only interest is F1, that can almost make it too important when the pressure comes on. Max has a very good balance in that respect," concluded the RB16B designer.