David Coulthard expects a driver outside Red Bull Racing to pose a challenge for Max Verstappen. The former Formula 1 driver sees that Sergio Pérez is a good driver, but he believes that the Mexican is too busy with peripheral matters. The Brit believes that Formula 1 could use another good title fight, but he does not expect as many fireworks at Red Bull as at Mercedes when the German racing team was dominant.
Coulthard has previously indicated that Red Bull’s dominance takes away the magic. The former Formula 1 driver would like to see another interesting battle for the world title. Coulthard thinks back to the 2021 season, in which Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton had to compete with each other. The battle remained exciting until the last race, after which the title went to Verstappen. Since then, the Dutchman has won 34 races and won two more world championships.
Coulthard understands that Formula 1 is mainly about the technical aspects and that the best car simply wins. Nevertheless, the dominant team must have two drivers who can compete against each other. “In the years before, Mercedes was dominant, but I think it remained interesting because of the battle between Rosberg and Hamilton,” Coulthard told Total-Motorsport. “I think as long as you have two drivers who can compete against each other, it will remain interesting.”
“But for that to happen, Checo obviously has to take a step,” the former Red Bull driver continues. Pérez seemed like he could be a challenger to Verstappen in 2023, but after two victories in the early stages of the season, things went wrong for the Mexican. Coulthard hopes that another team can challenge Red Bull. “Both things are possible, but I think it is more likely that another team like Mercedes or Ferrari will give one of their drivers the opportunity to compete with Max.”
Coulthard thinks Pérez is distracted
Given the last three seasons, it also seems unlikely that Pérez will really pose a challenge for Verstappen. ‘He has to play to his strengths. Whatever he did when he was at his strongest; he needs more of that.’ Coulthard believes that the Mexican is currently too distracted by peripheral matters. “You only have to go to Mexico to see that he is a national star, his face is everywhere, he represents different brands.”
“So everyone is going to make their choices, but everyone has to understand where their focus is,” the Brit continues. Coulthard indicates that he always wanted to focus on his Formula 1 career. The former driver already said in his McLaren days that he did not want to deal with peripheral matters. “And although I wasn’t the best driver in the end, I think I made the most of my potential because I stayed focused on driving,” said Coulthard.
