{
  "id": 2229417,
  "title": "Max Verstappen is yet to reach his peak, says former F1 team boss",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/max-verstappen-is-yet-to-reach-his-peak-says-former-f1-team-boss",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-20T21:22:52.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Motorsport.com",
    "slug": "motorsport-com",
    "url": "https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/max-verstappen-is-yet-to-reach-his-peak-says-former-f1-team-boss/10847757/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Former Formula 1 team principal Otmar Szafnauer believes Max Verstappen is still improving and has not yet reached his peak performance. He made this comment during an episode of the High Performance Racing podcast. Szafnauer discussed standout drivers he has encountered during his career, naming Sebastian Vettel as the best driver he worked with.\n\nSzafnauer also mentioned the toughest rivals he faced, citing Michael Schumacher or Lewis Hamilton. When asked about Verstappen, he said he doesn't think the Dutch driver is at his peak yet and expects him to get better. Verstappen currently sits sixth in the drivers' standings with 109 points, 110 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli, according to Yahoo Sports.\n\nVerstappen has confirmed his commitment to Red Bull, signing a contract extension that will keep him with the team until the end of 2030.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}