Verstappen an F1 champion in the making - Stewart

Sir Jackie Stewart says Max Verstappen is a Formula 1 world champion in the making and believes some of the controversy that follows the Dutchman will only help him in his bid for glory. Red Bull have been tipped to challenge for honours in 2018 but endured a frustrating Australian Grand Prix.

Verstappen began his 2018 campaign with a sixth-place finish in Melbourne, having qualified on fourth, after spinning when in pursuit of Kevin Magnussen.

The 20-year-old secured wins in Malaysia and Mexico last year as Red Bull made great strides through the season.

He has previously clashed with the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen over his aggressive style of defending on-track, but Stewart - world champion in 1969, 1971 and 1973, says Verstappen's style is making F1 better.

"With his performance and style of racing at Red Bull, Max is a breath of fresh air in Formula 1," Stewart told Racingnews365.

"He sometimes gets criticised, but he is young and exuberant and when you are young you sometimes make decisions that you will not make at a later age.

"It is part of his learning curve."

Verstappen curbed some of his attacking instincts last season, but remained right on the edge, with collisions ending his races in Spain, Austria and Singapore.

The Dutchman himself says he will become more circumspect if he is fighting for titles and regular race wins and Stewart believes that those prior issues will only serve him with greater experience to become a champion.

"Verstappen has gone like a comet through Formula 1 and is now in the position that he can win more races," Stewart added.

"Max only gets faster and better and develops into a real title candidate.

"He will recognise that some incidents in which he was involved in sometimes cost him world championship points or possible victories."