Rene Arnoux: Max’s opponents will have a difficult season in 2024

Rene Arnoux, a former Formula 1 driver, spent almost one and a half hundred Grand Prix races from the late 1970s to the late 1980s, competing for teams such as Renault, Ferrari and Ligier.

He was once considered one of the fastest drivers in the championship: he had 18 pole positions, seven wins and a total of 22 podium finishes. His most successful year was 1983: he was a Scuderia driver and finished the season in 3rd place in the individual rankings.

He still keeps in touch with Formula 1, sometimes appearing in Grand Prix and also taking part in races with historic cars. In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, in which he summarized the season, he shared his impressions.

“Max Verstappen is a fantastic driver, but his car is absolutely fantastic,” said the Frenchman, who celebrated his 75th birthday last summer. – Take a look at the recordings from the on-board cameras of his RB19: how he brakes, how he steers, how he chooses ideal trajectories in corners.

Other drivers have to constantly adjust the trajectory by moving the wheel – this is exactly what we had to do during our time in Formula 1. If Red Bull Racing has the same good car in 2024, Verstappen’s rivals will have another difficult season to face.

But Charles Leclerc was very dissatisfied during the championship and that can be said with certainty. At the same time, he performed quite consistently, which cannot be said about Carlos Sainz.

From my point of view, Leclerc is one of the best drivers in the world, he can be put on par with Verstappen. Although Max may be a bit more aggressive. But I repeat: the fact that Verstappen has such a car makes it easier for him to achieve such high results.

The Ferrari car is literally chewing on rubber and we saw that Max Verstappen managed to take the lead after just five laps of the race. But Carlos Sainz had an exceptionally great Singapore Grand Prix, although he performed below expectations in most other races.”