In an article, Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds praised Max Verstappen as an “exceptional racing talent” who is helping Red Bull “struggle” for the top spot. Verstappen leads the drivers’ championship with 84 points despite Red Bull being competitively caught up by McLaren and Mercedes.

After dominating the opening races this season, it looks like the Milton Keynes-based team will mirror its record-breaking campaign from last year. Dodds described last season as “painful”, with Red Bull winning 21 of the 22 completed races. The FE CEO is delighted to see the resurgence of McLaren, Mercedes and more recently Ferrari competing with Red Bull this season.

Six drivers have won a race this year ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Formula 1 Grand Prix, the most since 2021, which makes F1 more interesting in Dodds’ eyes. “I think this season is much better than last season,” Dodds shared. “I thought last season was painful to watch, I feel like this season is starting to be the same.

“I think the reality is that Red Bull is not making any particular progress with its cars – Checo is having a very difficult season – and the reality is that McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari, although are having a bit of a difficult time at the at the moment, but it’s all progressed, which I think just makes the sport that much more interesting.”

‘No contest’
The improvement of Red Bull’s rivals was not the only reason why the victory was shared by more riders. While teams like McLaren and Mercedes continue to achieve, Red Bull is reaching the peak of its development curve. The problem isn’t that the RB20 is a bad car, it’s that Red Bull has squeezed almost everything it can out of the car. Unpredictable races have become more common as Verstappen is being pushed to his limits to keep Red Bull ahead in both championships.

However, while F1 is certainly more competitive this season, Verstappen has still won six more races than anyone else, something which Dodds believes will be considered “undisputed” in The other sports. “That being said, we are 12 races into the F1 season, Max has won seven races. Of the five races that everyone else has won, five different people have won one. So, In any other sport, that would be a no-brainer, right?

“If someone wins seven races, and the only person who wins a race also wins only one race, then that race will be inconclusive. “Max is a special racing talent, he used to drive a special car and so he made everything very predictable. “I think at the moment you have exceptional racing talent in a car that is struggling to keep an advantage over the other cars, which I think will make for an exciting end-of-season race than.”