30 November 2023 , 08:00
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Johnny Herbert has backed Max Verstappen to smash Lewis Hamilton's Formula 1 titles record.
But the former Sky Sports F1 pundit also had a warning for his Red Bull team: Just because they are dominating the sport right now, it may not be long before they have several rivals vying to knock them off their pedestal.
Verstappen won his third consecutive drivers' title this year and it was the easiest of the lot. He scored more points on his own than any other team managed altogether and managed more than double the total of team-mate Sergio Perez, who finished second in the standings.
He still has some way to go before breaking the all-time record. Hamilton and Michael Schumacher both have seven titles each to their names though, at 26, Verstappen has plenty of time left to catch and surpass them if his winning form continues.
Herbert has backed the Dutchman to have a strong chance of doing exactly that. "The only way that that's going to happen for Max is, it's very obvious, but it's the ability of Red Bull to be able to achieve what Mercedes achieved in that dominant time with the championships that they won with Nico [Rosberg] and Lewis," he told Genting Casino.
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"Can they carry that on? I think there's a good strong chance they can. Is there time on his side before the rules change obviously in 2026? They're in a very good, strong position but I think we're getting to that point again where I think there is always a certain level that you can get to and you might edge it slightly better year by year or during a season but then everybody else starts to catch up.
"And then your domination time, your win rate like it has been at the moment, has been reduced. And then those chances of winning championships reduce at the same time."
The performance gap between Red Bull and every other team this year has been significant. But there were notable strides made by many of them over the course of the campaign, most notably by McLaren who started the year miles off the pace but ended it as regular podium contenders with, arguably, the second-quickest car on the grid.
Herbert pointed to that as an illustration of his point that Red Bull's dominance will eventually wane - perhaps even as soon as in 2024. "That's why I said earlier on, it's not a given that they're going to win next year - there's a damn strong chance but there's no given about it at all," he added.
"And even if it it next year, it's not a given for the following year, because there are a lot of smart people that are being dragged into Ferrari, dragged into McLaren, and they seem to be using the new, fresh knowledge to be able to improve themselves. So, as you know, it never stands still - it's always moving around, it's always improving. You have good days, bad days, good years, bad years."