Verstappen's level of dominance 'not normal' – Lobato

Mar.19 (GMM) Long-time Spanish F1 commentator Antonio Lobato doubts Max Verstappen will win every single grand prix this season.

Red Bull won all but one of the 23 grands prix last season, and triple world champion Verstappen arguably looks even stronger so far in 2024.

But at the Atletico de Madrid vs FC Barcelona football game in Madrid on Sunday, Lobato said he fully expects to see other drivers win races soon.

However, he admitted Verstappen’s dominance is a problem for Formula 1.

“We have a problem,” Lobato told DAZN. “His name is Max and his last name is Verstappen,” he smiled.

“But I’m sure I’m going to commentate on the victory of another driver other than Max. And if it’s not this year, it will be next year,” Lobato laughed.

“The other day I saw a statistic,” he continued. “Of the last 20 races, he has won 19. Only Carlos Sainz was able to take one away from him.

“So a little bit of the morbidity of racing now is to see if someone is capable of beating Verstappen.”

Lobato says dominance is normal in F1, but the scale of Verstappen and Red Bull’s superiority is “not normal”.

“Everything goes in cycles,” he said, “but we must make it clear that what we are experiencing is not normal.

“He doesn’t have a breakdown, nothing happens to him, he doesn’t make a single mistake. And it’s a shame actually because behind him is a beautiful battle.”