Max Verstappen has dealt with the words of Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. In Zandvoort, the Austrian expressed his surprise at the difference of 1.3 seconds between Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez, not only complimenting Verstappen, but also suggesting that Red Bull Racing is very supportive of the reigning world champion.
The confrontation with those words resulted in a clear reaction from Verstappen: ‘That’s bullshit. That’s not how it works. I just drive as fast as possible in the car I get,” Verstappen explained to Motorsport.com. “I’m not here to tell the team I want more front end, just because I like it. I just say: design the fastest possible car for me, and I’ll adapt. Every year is different, every car is different. People always ask what my driving style is. I don’t have a particular driving style, I just adapt to the car to go fast.’
Verstappen does not care much whether it is underestimated what the Dutchman is putting down. “I’m not in it to prove anything, I’m just doing my best with the material I have. People probably don’t know what’s going on in the team and how difficult it is to deliver what we as a team have shown with a good car, winning all the races so far.’ In any case, there have been many years in Formula 1 in which one team has dominated, but no team has ever managed to win all of the first thirteen Grands Prix.
“Some people don’t appreciate it when someone consistently does a good job, and I’m not just talking about myself, but about the whole team,” continues the 25-year-old. ‘I’m just doing my job. I’m not looking for recognition, because there are other people who recognize what I do.’ One of those others is designer Adrian Newey, who recently stated that Verstappen is among the very best in Formula 1 history. “Everyone has their own opinion on these things, but I never came to Formula 1 myself to prove that I belong among the greats of the sport. I just do my best and win as much as I can when I get the chance.’
So what the media think of it, Verstappen doesn’t care much, he mainly enjoys his dream job. “It is certainly nice to drive the car now, but every weekend there are factors that you have to take into account and that have to be optimised. A weekend is never straight forward, and in a way you’re almost on autopilot, but you also gain a lot of experience,’ the Red Bull driver realizes.
Equalization of Vettel
Sebastian Vettel and Verstappen maintain a very good relationship and have a lot of respect for each other. Where Lewis Hamilton, for example, never got further than five victories in a row, Vettel and Verstappen both managed to win nine in a row. “I remember when he did that,” says Verstappen, who had just turned sixteen at the time and had just become world champion in karting himself. ‘I thought, Wow! It’s an incredible number, and I never thought anyone would do anything like that again, and here we are. It’s an unheard of number, but I’m not too fixated on it either. I never thought I would do nine in a row, but now I would like to make it ten. I just want to win, that has nothing to do with the number ten. That also helps for a weekend. It’s difficult enough with all the tire choices we have to make,” Verstappen refers to the Alternative Tire Allocation, in which the drivers only get eleven sets of Pirelli tires.
So this weekend Verstappen will have the chance to get his hands on the record alone. For that, Verstappen must pilot his RB19 to victory at the Temple of Speed. “It’s a fast circuit, and you drive here with little downforce to optimize the top speed,” Verstappen shares with F1TV. “That makes the circuit a lot more difficult. The atmosphere on the track with all the passionate fans is also nice. Most will of course cheer for Ferrari, but that’s fine here. The car is very all-round. Some tracks suit our car better than others, but it’s important to have a car that works well everywhere. Normally this should be a good circuit for us.’
