Max Verstappen is no longer shy to admit that he is positively cruising to his third consecutive world championship in Formula 1.
He has even now raced past the great Ayrton Senna’s all-time record tally, but 25-year-old Verstappen insists he is keeping his feet on the ground.
“When I was a little kid, I had no idea where I would be,” he told Servus TV when asked about the Senna milestone. “But there are also more races now.
“Of course you also need a good team and a good car, so I’m lucky to have that now,” the 25-year-old added.
Indeed, the entire Red Bull camp is no longer scoffing at suggestions that the team could actually go on to win every single grand prix in 2023 – an unprecedented feat in the history of F1.
“As a team, we obviously want to win all the races this year, but it won’t be easy,” said Verstappen. “There are still a few races to go and a mistake can always happen.
“Of course we also want to win the championship but I already said after Abu Dhabi (in 2021) that everything that comes now will be a bonus.”
Austria last weekend was his 42nd career victory, putting him within sight of those who have more wins to their names – Alain Prost (51), Sebastian Vettel (53), Michael Schumacher (91) and Lewis Hamilton’s record at 103 wins.
“I’ve never talked about 60, 70 or 103 victories,” Verstappen insisted. “It always goes together with the best car in the field and then you always need luck.”
His relationship with Lewis Hamilton has been famously fraught, but his father Jos was always close with the great Michael Schumacher.
“I have nice memories with Michael Schumacher from back then,” Verstappen said. “My father was friends with Michael – actually my whole family. We have some nice pictures together from back then.”
As for his now gaping 81-point gap in the drivers’ title over his own teammate Sergio Perez, Verstappen admits he is benefitting from the battle taking place behind Red Bull.
“They are all very close together,” he said. “Last weekend Ferrari was maybe a bit faster, Lando (Norris) was also very fast. But every race there is a different team behind us. They’re taking the points from each other.”
