Red Bull still thinks Max Verstappen has room to improve, despite the way he has dominated the 2022 campaign.
The Dutchman romped to the title, securing the crown in Japan with four races still to go in the season. His success has been his team's, as Red Bull also made sure of the constructors' championship with plenty of time to spare.
Of course, his team know exactly what sort of talent they have on their hands. Less than two weeks ago, team principal Christian Horner lauded Verstappen as "special" and asserted that the double champion does not get the plaudits he deserves.
The team's head of car engineering Paul Monaghan has been speaking further about Verstappen's talents in Sao Paulo this weekend. And though he is in awe of what the 25-year-old can do, he made it clear he still thinks there is some room for improvement.
"Max is technically extremely gifted," he told reporters. "He did a lot of work as a youngster, often guided by his father, and you can see the legacy of that.
"He knows what he's talking about within the car and he knows what he wants. And with his engineers, they know how to deliver a car that he finds nicely balanced, not necessarily easy to drive, but drivable, looks after its tyres well enough that he can manage a situation.
"If you look at his record over the past seasons he's been with us it's stunning. He wouldn't achieve that if he wasn't an exceptional driver. Can he improve? Yes, of course he can. He might not thank me for saying that but I think there are areas he can get a little bit better.
"He'll dig into himself and think what could he do better through a season and it's up to us to give him a car to go and demonstrate those skills next year." When discussing the year Verstappen has had, Horner implied that his team could not have asked for any more from the racer.
"When we look back at the end of the year, it is an absolutely outstanding year that Max has driven," said the team chief. "He hasn't put a wheel wrong, he's been perfect throughout the season. It's been incredible, the level of consistency that he has been able to achieve."
