David Coulthard admits Max Verstappen 'magic' has faded as Red Bull dominate F1
David Coulthard is worried the "magic" may have worn off Max Verstappen's success given the stranglehold the Dutchman has of Formula 1 right now.
Verstappen and his Red Bull team have been peerless for much of the last two seasons. Particularly in 2023, there was no team or driver capable of matching what they achieved as a swathe of single-season F1 records were toppled.
That included 21 wins from 22 for the team - 19 of those secured by Verstappen. Team-mate Sergio Perez provided some early-season resistance with two victories from the first four races, but he was soon swatted aside and from that point onwards there was zero title intrigue.
Some have suggested that is a problem for the sport that will only grow if their dominance continues. And former Red Bull racer Coulthard counts himself among those who hold that belief.
"That expression, 'familiarity breeds contempt'? If you adapt that to sport, the same thing goes," he told The Telegraph. "Too much success kind of takes away the magic. With sport, we look to be inspired, to grow, to move forward, and if one team is doing all that, then it doesn't give enough hope for everybody."
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The 13-time F1 racer winner is far from the only one who has voiced such concerns in recent times. But Verstappen has made it very clear that he couldn't care less - and that he doesn't see it as his responsibility to keep fans entertained.
He said last September: "Honestly, I have zero interest in that. For me, it was just we got beaten [in Singapore, Red Bull's only defeat all season] in a very clear way. I don't think about what is good for Formula 1. I don't think it's necessarily bad what was happening to Formula 1 because we were just better than everyone else.
"If people can't appreciate that, then you're not a real fan. But that's how it goes. That's why I was also super relaxed about it, because we didn't perform and other people did a better job than us. Then of course they deserved to win. They shouldn't win because people say it's boring that we are winning.
"I have no emotion. Yeah, we stopped winning for one race. S*** happens! We won 10 in a row before that. Of course I would have liked to win there as well. But I also know that there is always going to be a day where you have done that weekend where then you're not winning or things go wrong. And yeah, unfortunately, it was that weekend. We just move on and try again."
He did indeed go on to win that weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, a result which secured the team's constructors' championship success. Verstappen's third F1 drivers' title was sealed a few weeks later in Qatar - after Carlos Sainz's Singapore win, the Dutchman took victory in every race for the rest of the season.
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