In the shadow of Max Verstappen, nothing can grow or flourish, asserts Noël Ummels. But then again, someone has to occupy that second seat. Who dares?
In the past, very long ago, a Dutchman would occasionally participate in Formula 1, and my heart would beat with anticipation if he qualified among the top fifteen. This offered a prospect of points, points that Dutchmen only gathered sparingly. It’s an innocent chauvinism that you want to see your compatriots perform at a sporting level, although I fear there’s a hint of Übermensch mentality involved: we are better than the rest, a less innocent source of racism and wars. You could sometimes taste this from the reactions to the 2021 title duel between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. The same Max Verstappen who put a radical end to the Dutch point gathering.
Apparently, no one can match Verstappen
So, am I no longer frustrated watching Formula 1? On the contrary, my sympathy has shifted to someone from the other side of the planet: Yuki Tsunoda. I so wish for his breakthrough and am happy with a small consolation if he qualifies among the top fifteen, which rarely results in points in his case. He’s such a nice guy, he tries so hard, but it’s not in him and it doesn’t come out. At least, compared to his illustrious teammate. By now, we have to conclude that it’s not a form crisis, but a structural problem. And the seat next to him is as desirable as it is repulsive.
There are always those who claim that Verstappen is favored. Of course, Red Bull would be foolish not to give updates to its lead driver first. This doesn’t mean that the second driver gets inferior equipment, as Red Bull would be foolish to deliberately jeopardize the constructors’ title. This is exactly what Perez’s father claims, or even worse: if my son had received Verstappen’s preferential treatment, my son and not Verstappen would now be a four-time world champion.
No driver has ever outperformed so many teammates
With a bit of chauvinism, you can exaggerate the achievements of your compatriots, and with an excess of paternal love, you can fantasize about your son’s talent beyond all proportions. Sergio Pérez is an excellent sub-top driver and his experience is invaluable to a developing team like Cadillac, just like his new teammate Valtteri Bottas, but they are far from championship material.
I have once called it a poor performance that Pérez won two races and scored 285 points in Red Bull’s top year, 2023, because there were nineteen victories from Verstappen and more than double the points against it: 575. And yes, on paper that is also a poor performance. But after the earlier debacles with Pierre Gasly (2019), Alexander Albon (2019-20) and now Yuki Tsunoda, we can gradually establish that it is not their fault, but Verstappen’s. Only Carlos Sainz (2015-16) and Daniel Ricciardo (2016-18) could keep up with him, but that was still in his learning years.
Never in the history of Formula 1 has a driver outperformed so many teammates, which once again proves that he is the best of all time. Because you can complain about an uncontrollable car, but has it been uncontrollable since 2019? Of course not. The problem is an invincible lead driver. Who will be the next victim? In his youthful overconfidence, Isack Hadjar is all for it, while you can be sure that experienced veterans like Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso wouldn’t touch it.
