Max Verstappen warned ‘nobody is unbeatable’ by F1 rivals

Max Verstappen’s rivals believe the Red Bull driver is beatable despite him clinching a fourth consecutive F1 world championship.

A fifth-place finish in last weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix was enough for Verstappen to build an unassailable lead over title rival Lando Norris and wrap up the championship with two races remaining.

Verstappen started the season in dominant form, winning seven of the opening 10 rounds. Since then, the Dutchman has only won once.

Mercedes driver George Russell, who claimed a convincing win in Vegas, insisted that "nobody is unbeatable”.

"You go through these phases where teams and drivers together are dominating and people think if I went up alongside them, I wouldn't be able to compete with them. But you have to have belief in yourself,” Russell added.

“For me personally, when I teamed up with Lewis, Lewis is the greatest of all time. And, you know, Max is right up there with Lewis. So, Yeah, I absolutely believe in myself that we could fight him in equal machinery.”

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who finished third, echoed Russell’s comments.

"As much as I think Max did an incredible job this year... the second half of the season just shows that when we are all in more of equal machinery, we can go up against each other and make each other's lives difficult,” Sainz said.

"Everyone starts making mistakes when they are under pressure. Everyone starts complaining about their car and everyone starts complaining in the media about their car. It's all about pressure management.

“Whenever you don't have a two, three tenths margin on your nearest rival or your teammate, suddenly a pressure ramps up and everyone is human.”

After successfully retaining his crown for the fourth time in a row, Verstappen is anticipating a “big battle” next season.

"I'm very proud of how everyone stuck together in those very tough races where we lost," he said.

"We have a lot of ideas for next year. A few things we couldn't change anymore this year so that is something for next year. I hope that makes the car more driveable and more competitive because I know the other ones are not sitting still.

"Next year is going to be a big battle."