General
Verstappen: "I don't see myself as a favorite for Austria."
- GPblog.com
With two victories on the Red Bull Ring in his pocket Max Verstappen is automatically favorite for the race in Austria next weekend. The RB16 also seems to be in excellent shape, partly because the team is coming up with a lot of updates for the car. Nevertheless, Verstappen doesn't want to get ahead of things too hard, he prefers to focus on the championship as a whole.
Become a champion
In the preview of Red Bull Racing the Dutchman says: "I would prefer to win a Championship! I don’t really think about a hattrick, the most important thing for me is to have a competitive car and perform at my best. I never consider myself the favourite because actually when you look at the track it’s not even our best track."
"But last year, of course, it was very warm. We were really good with keeping the engine cooling down. So I don’t expect it to be an easy win, I think Mercedes again will be very strong. Who knows where Ferrari will be as well, so no, it will be a very hard and tough battle again to win that race, but we’re going to try."
Focus on what's happening
With many podium finishes for Verstappen in Austria, although it is not the best circuit for the team, everything is open. Verstappen has two chances to win the race, but that depends on many different factors. "It’s been such a long time since I drove the RB16, at the time it felt good but there’s always room for improvement"
"I always want to do better. The Team have been working really hard in the lead up to the race and there will be upgrades to our car, but all teams will have those so it’s not clear where anyone is at the moment. The weather conditions in Austria can also change quickly so that will play a part in the results. I will just focus on what is happening at the track and making sure we get the best performance out of the car."