Priestley points to Verstappen as first 'new world champion' in Formula 1

Max Verstappen will be the first new world champion. That is what Marc Priestley says in his new video. Whether Verstappen will succeed in 2021 is not yet certain for Priestley.

Verstappen made his debut in Formula 1 back in 2015, and after his first win on his debut for Red Bull Racing in 2016, everyone assumed Verstappen would become the youngest world champion 'for a while'. Arriving in 2021, Verstappen won't be able to do that, but Priestley does state that Verstappen will be the first new world champion.

''I took some time for this, because that's obviously difficult because it depends on a lot of things. I went for Verstappen. He already has a chance this year, but in 2022 there are also big changes coming up,'' said Priestley. So it's about the next champion who hasn't already won a world title. The former McLaren mechanic gives Verstappen the biggest chance due to the presence of Adrian Newey.

''Max and Red Bull have Adrian Newey. History shows that most of Newey's successes came after major rule changes where he found a loophole or was just better at adapting to a new set of regulations than everyone else. Red Bull and therefore specifically Verstappen therefore have a great chance in 2022 if the playing field is level again'', concludes the F1 analyst.