F1 News
Is Max Verstappen worried about losing potential title? 'Want to be better'
- Jeroen Immink
Max Verstappen still holds a comfortable 78-point lead over second-placed Lando Norris, but the competition is closing in. McLaren and also Mercedes have a car that has been faster than the RB20 in recent races, and a fourth world title for the Dutchman is not yet a foregone conclusion. Verstappen, however, remains relaxed at the moment.
In 2023, it was already clear after the first race in Bahrain that Verstappen was head and shoulders above the rest. With an astounding 19 Grand Prix wins, the Dutchman effortlessly headed for his third world title in a row. This season, too, Verstappen seemed unbeatable at the start of the season, but miraculously McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari have managed to give Red Bull and Verstappen a much harder time. With seven different winners so far in 2024, it's clear Verstappen has been tested more this year.
Verstappen remains relaxed
At the press conference in Zandvoort, Verstappen was asked if he was worried about those behind him. "I'm not really worried. I'm also not thinking about Abu Dhabi yet," the Dutchman began. "I just want to improve as a team. I want to improve the car. I know that if we improve our cars, then it makes our lives a bit easier. The last few races, of course, have been a bit tough, even though I do believe that if we started on pole in Spa, in our normal starting position, without a penalty, we could have still won the race. But it's just very tight margins," Verstappen explained. The 61-time Grand Prix winner will be hunting for his fourth home win in a row this weekend.
In doing so, Verstappen points out that there are several factors at play this season, and not just a fast car. "That's why also qualifying is always very important. But yeah, the better performance we have from the car, the easier it becomes. That's what I think we showed last year. I don't expect it to be like last year, but we always want to try and be better. And especially, you know, the situation that we have been in the last few races, we want to come out of that and learn maybe a bit more from the car and be more competitive."
Verstappen managed to secure pole position in the first seven races this season. After that, he has only managed to secure pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix. Can he secure pole at home once again?
This article was written in collaboration with Toby Nixon
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