Max Verstappen ‘weak technically’, Sebastian Vettel ‘more complete’ when arriving in F1, says Red Bull head

Max Verstappen was much less of an entire driver than Sebastian Vettel when arriving in F1, based on Guillaume Rocquelin, Purple Bull’s ex-head of race engineering.

That stated, Rocquelin – who held his head of race engineering position between 2015 and 2022 – lauded Verstappen for being “a boss” and maturing this 12 months to dominate the remainder of the F1 discipline, profitable a report 14 races with two nonetheless left to go.

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“He requested plenty of questions, took plenty of notes and when he arrived with us he was very thorough. It’s no coincidence that he gained a number of titles. He was extra ready technically, mentally.

“I feel Max perhaps had extra pure expertise, that is what he relied on probably the most. However Sebastian was probably the most full.

“Max has at all times been a boss. He has monumental self-confidence, he is aware of what he needs and he’s very direct.

“However I will be trustworthy, Max is weak technically in comparison with different drivers we have labored with. I feel he nonetheless has plenty of progress to make.

“He’s a pacesetter by his perspective, his outcomes. However I feel he can enhance from a technical viewpoint and in the best way of growing the automotive.”

Rocquelin expanded on how he felt Verstappen had grown in 2022.

“What struck me probably the most was that he has considerably misplaced this ‘determined starvation’ that he had final 12 months,” Rocquelin stated.

“He has matured. He has gained consistency. Profitable the championship has given him plenty of confidence and he drives otherwise.

“We will not essentially converse of a single set off. It’s one thing progressive, there have been a number of phases.

“He began F1 very younger with nice ambition and maybe not the maturity that went with it. He additionally began with Toro Rosso, who maybe had much less stature and expertise. Then the phases started when he arrived at Purple Bull.

“There was extra confidence within the crew, a superb report, he was nearer to his purpose. He gained a race instantly with us, which allowed him to take a step ahead. Progressively, he gained extra races, and developed hyperlinks along with his engineers.”

Verstappen, looking for to proceed his kind at this weekend’s Brazilian GP, appears like establishing an period of dominance in F1, supplied his Purple Bull crew can keep forward of the others within the engineering stakes.

However Rocquelin, now head of Purple Bull’s driver academy, stated the Dutchman’s arrival actually got here again in 2016, when he gained his first race aged simply 18.

“He is at all times had expertise,” Rocquelin stated. “To say that we’re beginning an period as a result of he’s beginning to win titles is just not essentially right. It began when he gained his first race with us.

“Then there may be additionally the standard of the automotive, we hope to proceed to win titles. It is as much as us to make a automotive that matches its expertise.