Latest Episode | Cut To The Race Podcast
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen discussed the current F1 season, admitting winning does not get boring as he continues to push for perfection.
Max Verstappen is undoubtedly the name of 2024 in Formula One. Before the summer break, the 2-times World Champion won ten out of twelve Grands Prix while remaining substantially unchallenged so far in the season. Already 125 points in front of teammate Sergio Perez, who is currently second in the Drivers’ Standings, the third title seems at hand for Verstappen.
To achieve such results, Red Bull Racing was able to create a car, the RB19, that even Verstappen admitted went beyond expectations, as said to F1.com: “It’s better than we expected it to be, so yeah, it’s really enjoyable. I’m just enjoying the moment, having a good time. But it doesn’t come easy”.
Asked whether winning easily is starting to get boring, the Dutchman said: “That actually doesn’t make it boring. That’s why I’m here. I want to be here. I want to win. To be up front. It’s what makes it a lot more enjoyable to come to a race weekend. Knowing that you can’t win, you have no chance – that’s boring for me. This is the opposite.”
Searching for perfection
Verstappen has been with Red Bull Racing since 2016 with his current contract running until 2028 when he’ll be 31. While he has often hinted at the possibility of retiring from Formula 1 at a relatively young age to pursue other racing series, he is currently focusing on his career within the Circus: “I’m just living in the moment. I’m just focusing on every single race weekend. Of course, we are winning a lot as a team, but that was never the goal, to try and say we need to be in the history books, I’m just focused on what’s ahead of me.”
He then went on to add: “You try to keep on being better. Every single weekend there are things you think ‘Ah that could have been done better, or we could have executed that better’, and you try the next weekend to try and do better. […]
“Some weekends probably it’s close to everything [being perfect], then some other weekends, it feels like maybe not everything. It’s also the beauty of the sport, where you know sometimes you think you nailed it and sometimes there are a few things you could have done better.”
Headline Image: Red Bull Content Pool