BARCELONA – Max Verstappen made a triumphant return to the track where he secured his first-ever Formula One victory. During his time in Barcelona, he tactfully downplayed the growing speculation surrounding Red Bull’s potential to achieve an unprecedented feat: winning every race in a single season.
As a young teenager, Max Verstappen made an impressive debut with Red Bull, securing his maiden victory at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix. The thrilling race took an unexpected turn when the leading Mercedes drivers, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, collided on the opening lap, opening the door for Verstappen’s triumph.
Fast forward to the present, and Verstappen has evolved into a formidable force in Formula One, earning the prestigious title of two-time world champion. Currently, he sits comfortably at the top of the championship standings, leading the title race by an impressive 39 points over his teammate, Sergio Perez.
Red Bull’s dominance in the season has been undeniable, with Verstappen claiming victory in four out of six races thus far, including a stunning triumph at the Monaco Grand Prix last weekend. Meanwhile, Perez showcased his skills by securing victories in the remaining two races.
This season has been an extraordinary display of Verstappen’s talent and Red Bull’s prowess, captivating fans and leaving competitors in awe.
Red Bull’s incredible winning streak continues, with a remarkable record of seven consecutive victories stretching back to the previous season. In fact, they have emerged triumphant in an astonishing 15 out of the last 17 races, showcasing an unmatched level of dominance in Formula One.
Despite their imperious consistency, Red Bull faced a minor setback in Monaco when Sergio Perez endured a mishap during qualifying. A crash forced him to start from the back of the grid, leaving him unable to score any points in the race. However, this isolated incident has not dampened the team’s hopes of achieving a historic sweep.
As the excitement builds for the upcoming race at the Circuit de Catalunya, Max Verstappen took the opportunity to reflect on his own victory, acknowledging his teammate’s unfortunate incident, and the potential implications it may have on the intense title battle between the two drivers.
“That’s Monaco – it can bite you,” he said. “I’ve been in that position myself, but now, from my point of view, it doesn’t really change anything.
“I know it’s a very long championship and you need to be very consistent. You can barely afford mistakes, especially when it’s one team, one opponent, really.
“And at the moment, it looks like ‘best case you win’ and ‘worst case you’re second’ so you can’t really lose too many points like that.”
He added that he decides to “keep grinding every single weekend”.
Verstappen believes in Red Bull’s potential for dominance, but when questioned about the possibility of winning every race—a feat never achieved before—he acknowledged that while it is possible, the likelihood of such an accomplishment is slim.
“How it looks like, at the moment, I think we can, but that’s very unlikely to happen. There are always things that go wrong, you have a retirement or whatever,” he said.
“But, purely on pace, I think at the moment it looks like (it is possible). But we’ll always get to tracks where maybe it doesn’t work out exactly, or whatever, bad luck in qualifying, you make your own mistakes.”
In 1988, McLaren, led by the iconic duo of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, showcased an extraordinary level of dominance, winning all races except for one. Their near-perfect record was interrupted when Gerhard Berger triumphed at Monza for Ferrari, denying them the coveted 100 percent victory rate.
During Mercedes’ reign of dominance from 2014 to 2021, they too experienced occasional setbacks, relinquishing victory in a few races each year. Their best season came in 2016 when they achieved an impressive 19 wins out of 21 races. Even Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari, in their peak era, faced challenges in maintaining a complete monopoly on the top step of the podium.
Furthermore, Verstappen downplayed the significance of comments made by Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s consultant race advisor. Marko had suggested that the team was preparing to introduce significant upgrades to their car in Spain.
However, Verstappen sought to temper expectations surrounding these statements, indicating that they should not be exaggerated or overemphasized.
“I think Helmut got a bit excited!” he said.
“I don’t know, but I think we’ll just be doing our normal program and nothing crazy.”
Sharing the press conference stage with Verstappen, Mercedes’ George Russell acknowledged that Red Bull possesses the inherent capability to win every race based on their pure speed. However, he also acknowledged that unforeseen circumstances and external factors could potentially hinder their path to victory.
“I’d like to think we’ll be able to fight at some point and take advantage of some misfortune,” said the Briton.
Lewis Hamilton, the esteemed teammate, and seven-time world champion, expressed his anticipation that Sunday’s race would provide Mercedes with a clearer understanding of the genuine potential unlocked by their upgraded car.
In preparation for the previous race in Monaco, Mercedes introduced a series of upgrades, incorporating modifications to the sidepod and suspension.
However, the unique characteristics of the slow and intricate street circuit posed a significant challenge in drawing definitive conclusions from their performance and the impact of the enhancements made.
“You can’t really tell a lot from Monaco, you would never choose to test an upgrade at Monaco,” Hamilton said.
“This is a perfect test track, a lot of medium and high-speed corners, so we should get a real good understanding of where we stand compared to the others.”
