Max Verstappen has insisted that he’s simply in Formula 1 to “do the best I can” and to “win as much” as possible, following a claim by Red Bull chief technical officer Adrian Newey.
Following Verstappen’s record-breaking 10th consecutive win at the Italian Grand Prix, Newey claimed that the reigning World Champion is “one of the all-time greats”, something the Dutchman seemingly isn’t bothered about.
The 25-year-old is more focused on doing the best he can rather than focusing on the records of others, which he’s currently beating anyway.
Breaking records was never his target, neither was joining the legends of the sport.
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“Everyone has their own opinion about these kind of things,” Verstappen told media including RacingNews365.com.
“For me, I was never in F1 to try and prove that I belong in between other people’s names or the greats in the sport.
“I’m just here to try and do the best I can, and try to win as much as I can when I have the opportunity.”
Despite it not being his primary focus, the Dutchman will be known as one of the all-time greats when he retires from the sport, with him already closing in on a third consecutive Drivers’ Championship.
Whilst he can’t claim the title this weekend at the Singapore Grand Prix, Verstappen can seal the championship next weekend in Japan.
He’s simply in a league of his own and looks set to smash his 2022 record of 15 wins in a season, given that he’s already won 12 times in 2023 with eight races remaining.
Some believe he could very easily win all the remaining races, taking him to 20 victories for the year.
Verstappen is loving the RB19 and admits that he’s driving “almost like automatic pilot”, with him being the clear number one driver at Red Bull.
“It’s a very enjoyable time to be driving the car,” Verstappen admitted.
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“But every single weekend, there are always other things that come up, and you have to optimise.
“It’s never a straightforward weekend. In a way, it’s almost like automatic pilot, but it’s also a thing as you gain a lot more experience.
“I always think I had this kind of thing where you’re driving the car, but you also think about a lot of other processes. It’s not something new suddenly to me.”