AUGUST 17, 2023

Q&A with Max Verstappen

"IT'S IMPORTANT TO TRY TO WIN EVERYWHERE!"

With nine Grand Prix wins out of the first eleven events of the season, plus two victories in the first three Sprint races of the year, Max Verstappen is the runaway leader of this year's Formula 1 World Championship, heading into the summer break with an advantage of 125 points over team mate Sérgio Pérez. That means it's highly unlikely the Dutch won't win his third title in a row but the Red Bull driver isn't yet satisfied and promises to continue to fight to win each and everyone of the ten remaining Grand Prix in the calendar.
Q: Does winning 12 consecutive races as a team means anything special to you?
Verstappen: It means more to the team but from my side, I just focus on every single race. I try to win. We just try to keep it going honestly, and just enjoying the moment. But I think it's just an incredible achievement from the whole team. Because yes, we have the dominant car, but it's also very easy to make mistakes and then not win one race. And then of course, the streak is gone, right? Because, even in the dominant years of Mercedes, they couldn't make it happen. And I think it was probably even more dominant than what we have at the moment or what McLaren had back then, because there were a lot more retirements with reliabiity stuff. So, I'm really proud to be part of the team and to achieve something like this.
Q: How pleasant is the car to drive?
Verstappen: It's a nicer than last year, it's also probably a bit easier to set-up. It has a very good balance, honestly, but, of course, in some races it was better than in others. I mean. For example, in Hungary I was not happy with the car on Saturday, I couldn't get the pole position, and then on Sunday, yes, I was very happy with the car. The job is not a simple one, it's not just having a great car, it's also trying to get the tyres in the best operation window. So, there are a lot of things that you have to pay attention to really optimise everything.
Q: Wouldn't it be nice to have someone to fight with?
Verstappen: I like the solo races...
Q: Wouldn't you prefer to have some battles?
Verstappen: For the sport, yes. But, on my side, we try to make the gap bigger. That's our goal. I don't mind to race, but I've done a lot of racing already in my life. And, also, you don't need to necessarily do that every single race.
Q: There's been very few lows for you this year, so what was the highest moment of the season, from your point of view?
Verstappen: It's difficult to choose. There have been a lot of nice ones, some of them more straightforward than others. I think the one actually which I really enjoy was the race in Miami. It's a tough track, also I had to get through the field, but I think we managed that whole race quite well after, of course, the tough qualifying. So, probably for me, that was the most enjoyable one. But, honestly, also in Spa, plus the last one in Hungary: there are a lot of nice ones. I think also throughout the first part of the season, we have improved as a team and also from my side, I feel more comfortable in the car. And it's all about little details. So, a lot of enjoyable moments. It's tough to pick just one.
Q: In Spa we heard you and your race engineer Giampiero Lambiase bicker quite a lot of the radio, so how important is it to have a good personal relationship and how negative for you should he move away from his current role?
Verstappen: I think the relationship with your race engineer is very important. I find it always a really important part of your performance, not only your race engineer but everyone very close around you, performance engineer, this kinds of people. And of course, over the years, you build up much more of a relationship, you know each other much better. So, for sure, if he would be removed or whatever that's definitely not ideal at all.
Q: With the title very much secured, what is the goal for the remaining ten races of the season? Are you going to try and beat all the records?
Verstappen: No, what I think it's important is to try and win everywhere. For me, it would be weird if I want to win more in Spa or in Zandvoort than in other tracks. It's nice and I really appreciate all the support I have, but I want to win on any track, because that's my motivation all the time, I want to do the best I can. But, for sure, when you have all the fans around the track supporting you, it brings a big smile on my face and it makes the weekend a bit more enjoyable for sure.
Q: And what's the plan for your summer break?
Verstappen: I just want to have a nice time now. Have a bit of time with family and friends and then we'll go to Zandvoort. It's a completely different track again to Spa, but I'm expecting, if we do a good job with the set-up, where we will be quick.