Max Verstappen has revealed the motivation behind his crushing dominance of F1 at present, even after he won his latest title with five races to spare.
For Verstappen and Red Bull, the 2023 season will go down as statistically the best in F1’s history, with the Dutch driver winning 19 of 22 grands prix, giving him the highest win percentage in the 73 years of the sport, a record points score, and a third championship that now marks him down amongst the greats.
This year, Verstappen secured his defining crown with a victory in the Qatar Grand Prix, at which point he could have switched off, only to go on and win the following races in Austin, Mexico City, São Paulo, Las Vegas, and Abu Dhabi.
Explaining why he continued to push, which has naturally given him momentum into next season, Verstappen said: “That is just how I grew up.
“I can’t go into a weekend not giving it my all. I would just get annoyed with myself, and I know the people around me would get annoyed with me if I were like that.
“My mindset also didn’t change after winning the championship. I go into the race weekends and, of course, I always try to do the best I can. And winning is great.
“Why would I not want to win when you have the opportunity to win? When I see there is an opportunity to win, I will always try to do the best I can, and also for the team.
“When you have such a good car, you want to try and extend certain records and do well.”
The RB19 was faultless, with Verstappen going through an entire season without a retirement for the first time in his career.
Acknowledging the role that played in such an emphatic year, Verstappen said: “The car was better than last year, and we were very solid in terms of no retirements, no real issues which, of course, is also a big key.”
As to whether he had personally improved, the 26-year-old added: “From my side, every single year I try to do better.
“But it’s more about general experience in F1, and trying to put the weekend together a bit more. Some weekends that works better than others.
“Besides that, just trying not to make too many mistakes, trying not to get too much damage on the car with the cost cap and stuff.
“These kinds of things worked quite well.”
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