{"id":261926,"date":"2025-11-04T21:40:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T21:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/261926\/"},"modified":"2025-11-04T21:40:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T21:40:10","slug":"tsunodas-crucial-dilemma-verstappens-teammate-demands-exposed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/261926\/","title":{"rendered":"Tsunoda\u2019s crucial dilemma: Verstappen\u2019s teammate demands \u2018exposed\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to Dutch commentator Nelson Valkenburg, Max Verstappen<\/a> would want a teammate who\u2019s closer to him, but who can\u2019t beat him either.\u201cIt is interesting to see that Max, who usually just focuses on himself anyway, because that\u2019s the way he operates at this highest level, but he needs some back-up.\u201d- Nelson Valkenburg.<\/p>\n

Although Verstappen has argued time and time against being involved in Red Bull\u2019s decision of who the team chooses to line up alongside him, pundits continue to claim otherwise.<\/p>\n

Such is the case for Valkenburg who recently made appearance on The Race\u2019s podcast stating what he believed to be Verstappen\u2019s requirements for whoever drives the second Red Bull car.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIt is interesting to see that Max, who usually just focuses on himself anyway, because that\u2019s the way he operates at this highest level, but he needs some back-up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"verstappen-mexico-gp\"\/<\/p>\n

Photo: Race Pictures<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, I know, for certain, he would like a driver that is closer, but that wouldn\u2019t beat him,\u201d outlining the supposed tricky conditions Verstappen\u2019s teammate would have to navigate.<\/p>\n

Valkenburg is of the opinion that Tsunoda is still unable to comply with such pernickety parameters.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, closer that there is at least the option of a strategic call. He might need that in the final four races. That\u2019s not yet where Tsunoda is,\u201d he concluded, alluding to the tough endeavour Verstappen is faced with in his bid to clinch his fifth world title on the trot.<\/p>\n

Ecclestone chooses Verstappen as favouriteFormer F1<\/a> Supremo, Bernie Ecclestone, has dubbed Verstappen as the favorite for the 2025 F1 title despite trailing both McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in the Standings, praising his driving and focus, as the trio of title contenders enter the Sao Paulo sprint weekend separated by 36 points<\/a>, with 33 points up for grabs across the event.Ecclestone also claimed he expected Oscar Piastri to clinch the title easily earlier in the season, but claimed something was holding him back, suggesting possible team favoritism toward Norris. He argued Norris being crowned champion would be ‘better’ for McLaren due to Norris\u2019s star quality and media-friendly presence.
\n Read more here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Want to stay up-to-date with what happens in the F1 paddock? Then GPblog’s F1 Paddock Update video is the perfect way to do it. Subscribe to GPblog’s YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss the latest episodes.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"According to Dutch commentator Nelson Valkenburg, Max Verstappen would want a teammate who\u2019s closer to him, but who…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261927,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":["post-261926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}