Magazine: Verstappen interview on his F1 title chances

Formula 1 fans have known for a long time that Verstappen has the speed to challenge for world titles. Now he seems to have the car with Red Bull’s RB16B, the one question that remains is: can he rein himself in to avoid throwing crucial points away in a championship fight?

Verstappen has never won a title in car racing but, as he tells Alex Kalinauckas, he has done so in karting. Knowing when to go for a gap and when not, a balance Lewis Hamilton regularly finds, could be vital in a season-long fight against the reigning champion.

But it’s clearly something the Dutchman has thought about and he believes it will be easier to fight for a crown in a competitive car than sniping for wins in a slower one.

The big motorsport news from last weekend was the inaugural Extreme E event. The ambitious all-electric off-road initiative faced plenty of incidents and issues – and question marks over the visit to Saudi Arabia – but our correspondent Matt Kew judged it a success. He explains why – and how Nico Rosberg’s team beat that of Hamilton – in our special report.

Raffaele Marciello was once a rising single-seater star for Ferrari. His F1 dream didn’t work out but he is now one of the world’s leading GT3 drivers. He tells James Newbold how he got there and why he is perfectly happy about where his career has taken him.

Drivers on their way up used to be able to measure themselves against F1 stars in other categories and we look back at the era when F2 played host to epic battles between new and established stars.

There’s also a guest column from Ferdinand Habsburg, who is trying to save an important forest with the help of the motorsport world as he switches to sportscar racing, plus reports from around the UK as club motorsport finally kicks off in 2021.

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