Vergne disagrees with complaints about dominant Verstappen: 'People forget that'

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Vergne praises 'greatness' Verstappen and Red Bull
17 August 2023 at 11:45
Last update 17 August 2023 at 11:49
  • Sam Godber

Dominant periods have always been part of Formula 1, although not everyone thinks that is a good thing. Former F1 driver and two-time Formula E champion Jean-Eric Vergne does not belong to that group of people and thinks it should instead be appreciated what Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing are currently showing.

Verstappen took his eighth consecutive victory in the Belgian Grand Prix. For Red Bull, it marked the 13th consecutive win and the combination of driver and team currently seems unbeatable. According to Vergne, who had to relinquish his Toro Rosso seat to the then 17-year-old Dutchman in 2015, this achievement should be more appreciated.

Vergne praises 'greatness' of Verstappen and Red Bull

"I don’t think it’s bad or good that Max and Red Bull are so strong. It’s just that we are witnessing greatness on both the driver’s side and the team’s side and it cannot be bad for the sport. I don’t understand the people that are saying it’s bad. It’s just that the others have to wake up or be more talented," the 33-year-old Frenchman told Talksport.com.

Vergne compares Verstappen's situation to that of another great. "When you look at the 100 metres when Usain Bolt was winning everything it was something that was fantastic for the sport. Everybody was witnessing greatness," he continued. "What Max is doing is out of this world and, as I said, if people actually realised how good he was and the things he is able to do that no one else can [than] I think they might enjoy watching the moment of history being made at the moment."

Moreover, the Formula E driver stresses that Verstappen has not had it coming. "He pushed to have the best engineer coming and he pushed to have the team completely around himself. It’s not only his talent on track that talks; it’s also all the work himself and his management have done to be in such a position. You have to respect that," Vergne said.