Max Verstappen heads into this weekend’s United States Grand Prix with absolutely nothing to worry about, except the huge ‘Cashgate’ scandal.
In all fairness, there is little to no reason why Verstappen would be bothered about such a thing, especially when he had nothing to do with it and it most likely won’t see his 2021 or 2022 crowns taken from him.
Whilst it is in the rulebook that Verstappen could be stripped of his 2021 Drivers’ Championship following Red Bull’s ‘minor’ breach of the 2021 budget cap, it is realistically the least likely penalty that could be awarded.
Red Bull can actually and will most probably seal their first Constructors’ Championship since 2013 this weekend, unless a complete catastrophe takes place.
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Verstappen is chasing his second consecutive win at the Circuit of the Americas, having claimed a narrow victory over Lewis Hamilton last season.
More importantly, Verstappen can match Sebastian Vettel’s and Michael Schumacher’s joint record of 13 wins in a season, something the Dutchman can actually eclipse at the following Mexican Grand Prix.
The Dutchman has certainly come a long way since his Red Bull debut at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, which, of course, he won.
His team-mate at the time, Daniel Ricciardo caught up with the Dutchman whilst he was giving an interview to Sky Sports, in what was a brilliant interaction between the two.
“I’ve only messaged you, I haven’t seen you in person,” said Ricciardo, whilst creeping up behind Verstappen to hug him.
“Aww,” was Verstappen’s instant reaction, before laughing.
“It’s a bit late but congrats,” added Ricciardo, congratulating Verstappen on his second title.
“Thanks mate, are you okay?” asked the Dutchman after seeing Ricciardo’s somewhat designer beard.
“You still can’t grow a beard yet?” the McLaren driver joked back.
“No,” Verstappen responded.
“Two-time World Champion and he can’t grow a beard,” laughed Ricciardo to the camera.
“Blame my mum,” Verstappen hilariously said, before the duo broke into laughter.
Verstappen’s father, ex-F1 driver Jos Verstappen, actually revealed recently that his son “learnt the most” from his time alongside Ricciardo at Red Bull, with the pair having remained friends ever since.
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Ricciardo and Verstappen were partners at the Austrian side from the 2016 Spanish GP up until the end of 2018, with the pair having famously clashed at the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Verstappen has clearly gone from strength to strength ever since, whilst Ricciardo has arguably been on a downward spiral since leaving the front-running side.
He is set for a year on the side-lines to reset his batteries, with the aim being to return to full-time racing in 2024.