Reigning World Champion Max Verstappen has admitted that he’s aware his dominance “will stop” eventually; therefore, he’s making sure that he’s “enjoying the moment”.
Since the new aerodynamic regulations were introduced last season, Verstappen has been unstoppable.
He’s won 25 of the 34 completed races in the new era of the sport, whilst he’s claimed victory in 10 of the 12 races to have taken place in 2023.
Verstappen is currently on an eight-race winning streak, which is expected to extend at the end of August when F1 returns from its summer break at the Dutch Grand Prix.
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He leads the Drivers’ Championship by 125 points and is set to claim a third title in a row imminently, due to him having next to no competition.
Concerningly for his rivals, Verstappen is simply “wanting more” despite his dominance, with it simply being the way he was brought up by ex-F1 driver Jos Verstappen.
“It’s not so much about learning about myself, it’s just always wanting more. And I’m trying to look at every single situation where you could have done better,” Verstappen told Sky Sports F1.
“That’s how I’ve been brought up as well, always wanting more.”
“Whenever people say it’s great or amazing, there are always things that can be done better. I know that, because I’ve been on the other side of it, where you’re trying to hunt for victories and you don’t show up because you just don’t have the package or whatever.”
Whilst Verstappen is keen to continue dominating, he’s making sure that he’s enjoying the journey, with him being acutely aware that superiority in F1 doesn’t last forever.
“I’m definitely enjoying the moment but at the same time, I know that at one point this will stop, so we need to enjoy it, keep learning, keep trying to improve and try to implement it again for the next race,” said Verstappen.
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Should he continue to dominate, then he’ll likely remain in the sport beyond his current deal, which expires at the end of 2028.
Winning so often is keeping Verstappen’s “fire going”, whilst he also explained what’ll have to happen for that fire to be extinguished.
“[Winning] keeps the fire going. If I have to rock up and I have no chance of winning, the fire starts to go away. This year, it’s looking great, but next year is a completely different year,” said Verstappen.