Jacques Villeneuve: Verstappen is a real machine

The 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve summed up the results of the Hungarian Grand Prix and admitted that he was impressed with the results and form of Max Verstappen this season.

Jacques Villeneuve: "If we move from individual races to the picture as a whole, we could expect much more intrigue in the fight for the title. The new rules are working, drivers can chase each other much more closely, act more aggressively in the race. That's great! We've seen some great battles between Ferrari and Red Bull. Ferrari is not inferior in speed, if not faster, but Red Bull has a huge advantage in the personal standings and the Constructors' Championship.

Nothing has been decided yet, there are a lot of races ahead, but if the trend continues, if Verstappen performs at this level, and Red Bull continues to develop the car, it will be very difficult to stop them. 

Max is a real machine. He wasn't even tired after the race. I don't think he needs a vacation! This year he is incredibly strong, and his team does not make mistakes. If something goes wrong, he and Red Bull create the conditions to fix it. In Hungary, he could just minimize losses, he didn't necessarily have to win, but he won. This is the approach of Red Bull – they don't put any pressure on themselves, and then they have a great race. 

It seems that the car is becoming more and more suitable for Verstappen, and Sergio Perez lost a little bit of speed after Monaco, which is a bit strange. Since the new items were put on the car, it has become easier for Verstappen, and more difficult for Perez, although it was the opposite before. 

In Hungary, I was surprised by the decisions of some teams. Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport, everyone here is at the highest level – the best drivers, mechanics, engineers and strategists. How could several teams, not only Ferrari, decide to switch to Hard tires at once, when it was clear from the example of Alpine that they did not work? Didn't they watch the race? It's incomprehensible how this can happen in a sport where only the best of the best work. 

Overall, the weekend in Budapest was wonderful. I've never seen so many people at the Hungarian Grand Prix. After a great first part of the season, Formula 1 deserves a vacation, but I'm already looking forward to continuing”.