F1 ace Sargeant expects Verstappen to retain world title

Williams Formula One driver Logan Sargeant has tipped Max Verstappen and Red Bull to retain their driver and constructor championships “with ease”. Verstappen crossed the line first in Bahrain and Australia, as well as second in Saudi Arabia with Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez taking the win.

Red Bull’s barn-storming start to the F1 season has them 58 points ahead of Aston Martin, while drivers Verstappen and Perez are one-two in the driver standings on 69 and 54 points respectively. And their dominance saw Mercedes rivals George Russell, as well as team principal Toto Wolff, concede that the Bulls could win every single one of F1’s 23 races this season.

Should Red Bull sweep all 23 races, they would set an unseen record in F1. The closest team to going unbeaten in an F1 season was McLaren in 1988 when they won 15 out of 16 Grands Prix.

F1 Williams driver Sargeant, 22, like many, expects Red Bull to breeze past their opposition effortlessly. “I think it’s quite clearly going to be Max and Red Bull,” Sargeant exclusively told ExpressSport. “I think they’re going to do it with ease. That’s just how it looks at the moment, who knows, but that’s what I expect.”

Baku – a street circuit – is up next and Perez will be in his element. Four out of five of the Red Bull No2 driver’s career F1 wins have come on street circuits, with his last victory coming in Saudi last month.

Defending F1 world champion Verstappen, meanwhile, won in Azerbaijan last season and a win this time round would further strengthen his bid for a third title in a row. The 25-year-old has 37 career wins, 80 podiums and two world titles, and is regarded as one of the best of all time despite his youth.

And with many years ahead of him, Verstappen could shatter records, including Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton’s joint world title record of seven. That’s if he doesn’t quit early, as recently hinted, due to mass changes in the sport. But Sargeant believes Verstappen is quicker than the seven-time world champion. 

“I would take Lewis’ experience, Max’s speed and [Fernando] Alonso’s racecraft,” Sargeant said when building his perfect F1 driver based off his current competitors, with the trio having 11 world titles between them. “Those are my three traits, that would be it.”