Sebastian Vettel is paying a visit to Formula 1 in Sao Paulo: In the duel between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, he is hoping for excitement, but sees the roles as clearly defined.
Max Verstappen still has a comfortable 47-point lead over his World Championship rival Lando Norris, with four Grand Prix weekends, including two sprints, still to go in the 2024 season – but the trend of recent months is clearly towards McLaren, with the Papaya team’s package seemingly the Red Bull a
“As much as I would like it for all of us if it were to be really exciting until the end, I believe that Max is now so hardened, drives so confidently…” says ex-world champion Sebastian Vettel on Sky’s microphone in Sao Paulo on Saturday, and praises Verstappen: ”We rarely see him make mistakes.”
“Even if his car is perhaps not quite as strong now as it was at the beginning of the year, I still see him as the favorite,” explains Vettel: ‘I think he is still strong enough to always take enough points. And Lando is no longer in a position to win every race so easily either,’ Vettel alludes to the strengthened competition from Ferrari.
The German, who won four world championship titles for Red Bull between 2010 and 2013 – a record that Verstappen is currently setting – is therefore clear: “So I would say that the role of favorite is clearly distributed – and lies with Max.” Although Vettel adds: “But of course, as an independent spectator, I also hope that it will be even closer.”
But Vettel doesn’t really seem to have much faith in that: “Shall we bet?” he jokes in conversation with the Sky moderators: “We’ll think of something, but I think Max will win,” Vettel laughs, whereupon buddy and TV expert Timo Glock suggests: “You come to the booth to commentate once if you lose the bet!”
All the more reason for Vettel to go all out for Verstappen in the season’s final sprint…
