Formula 1: Carlos Sainz praises Max Verstappen as Dutchman closes on title

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz has said that Max Verstappen has had a ‘very strong season’ and that even when he makes mistakes he can still win.

The Red Bull star is on the verge of winning a second Formula 1 world championship this year, and can seal the deal as early as the next race in Singapore at the start of October.

He’s in incredible form at the moment, too, with him winning the last five races in a row and it is that consistency and speed that has made him ultimately too good to stop this year.

Ferrari have had their chances, of course, but at times reliability or mistakes have let them down and, after a couple of retirements at the start of the year, Max has found himself on a roll that has allowed him to turn a points deficit of nearly 50 into a lead of 116.

Some turnaround, and Carlos Sainz has praised the Dutchman’s ability to make very few mistakes as well as being able to, in the event of a rare error, still make something of it and get a positive result.

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“I think he’s had a very strong season. He’s made very few mistakes,” said Max’s former Toro Rosso team-mate.

“Whenever he’s made mistakes, like in Spain, he spun in the same place as me, in Hungary he spun, he’s recovered from the mistakes and gone [on to] win.

“I think this is the biggest difference that even in the days that he’s had maybe a bit of an off he still managed to go and win.”

It would take an incredible chain of events for Max to now not win a second world title.

The Dutchman has left everyone else in his wake in what has been a dominant campaign and there’s no doubting that he’s a driver of huge talent, speed, and mental strength.

READ MORE: HOW MAX VERSTAPPEN CAN WIN THE WORLD TITLE IN SINGAPORE

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