Max Verstappen F1 News: Sky pundit makes 'BORING' claim amid criticism of Red Bull star

Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Barcelona, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Sky F1 pundit makes 'boring' Verstappen claim amid criticism of Red Bull star

The Dutchman's dominance has not been to everyone's liking

Rhys Thomas

Friday 28 June 2024 15:13 Updated: 18:58

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One pundit has issued their stance on a 'boring' aspect of Max Verstappen's F1 career as the reigning champion remains on track for a fourth consecutive title.

The 26-year-old is leading the 2024 standings by some distance, having won the last three drivers' championships.

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2023 saw utter domination for Verstappen and Red Bull as they won all but one race, with the Dutch driver responsible for 19 of those, extending the record he set in 2022 (15) for most race wins in a season.

This campaign, he has already amassed seven wins from 10 races, but has had to fend off a much more serious and consistent threat from his rivals.

Max Verstappen took his seventh win of the season in Spain

Max Verstappen's rivals are making things more competitive in 2024

Is Max Verstappen 'boring' for F1?

Whereas Verstappen's Red Bull car was given a lot of the credit in 2022 and 2023, his recent wins in Imola, Canada, and Spain have reaffirmed his ability in a car that has not always necessarily been the quickest throughout the race weekend.

Despite a dull and dominant start to 2024, rivals have significantly narrowed the gap to Red Bull, and each qualifying and race is becoming more difficult to predict.

With Verstappen proving that it is more than just the car which makes the difference in F1, reporter Natalie Pinkham says he is owed more from onlookers, and that it is not his domination that is boring.

Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, she said: "What I actually find boring is the criticism of Max Verstappen.

"We are witnessing one of the greatest ever drivers in our sport, and that is an honour in itself, and he is able to take the car into a race weekend, and deliver weekend in, weekend out.

Natalie Pinkham (right) says that it is criticism of Max Verstappen which is 'boring'

"Okay, not necessarily putting it on pole, but also a level of maturity to his driving that we didn't necessarily see at the start of his career.

"Looking at Monaco, for example, [he was] able to come away from that race weekend with a decent haul of points and really, we [have] said it so many times before, you only have to look at the difference between him and his team-mate, as you do with every driver up and down the grid.

"That is your direct comparison and yet again, this weekend, we have seen why Max Verstappen is genuinely one of the best of a generation."

Indeed, Sergio Perez is struggling for form, and so far in 2024 has scored far fewer points than his team-mate. Throughout their career together at the Milton Keynes-based team, Perez has struggled to match the Dutchman.

The Mexican was recently given a new contract at Red Bull, though many were calling for a stronger partner to challenge Verstappen.

Irrespective of who is in the sister chassis, the three-time world champion has more than proved his worth in recent years.

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Christian Horner