Max Verstappen is very worried
Max Verstappen may not seem overly concerned about his sporting future at first glance: The series world champion appears nearly unbeatable in the current Formula-1 season. However, competition is catching up, as Verstappen himself acknowledges. And he puts pressure.
Max Verstappen was unfazed by a small false start at the emotional home race of his Red Bull team in Spielberg. "We work as hard as we can to improve," said the Formula-1 world champion, still slightly out of breath. He arrived at the press conference at the racetrack in Austria with a 15-minute delay via his private jet.
However, Verstappen also arrived at the Red-Bull-Ring with concerns, as he had said after his hard-fought win on Sunday in Barcelona: "I think we're not number one anymore." Team colleague Sergio Perez missed the podium five times in a row, finished eighth in Imola and Barcelona, and didn't even reach the finish line in Monaco and Montreal.
Verstappen is not winning because he has the clearly dominating car, but because he is the best driver. Nearly error-free, he makes the right decisions at the right moments. "He is so decisive in big moments," praised team boss Christian Horner.
Verstappen himself would certainly not object if it became easier sooner. "We're not the fastest on the track. McLaren was stronger in tire wear, so we have to do something," said Verstappen before the home race, for which Red Bull's top management, including team manager Oliver Mintzlaff, is expected at the track.
Sprint Weekend as a Challenge
In Steiermark, a triple champion awaits a double home game. Traditionally, thousands of fans travel from the Netherlands and create a particularly lively atmosphere on the tribunes. Verstappen thanked for the past six years with four wins - and is aiming for another one on Sunday (3 p.m./Sky and live on ntv.de) to build on his WM lead.
After seven season victories, he leads before the eleventh of 24 races by a comfortable 69 points over the most annoying pursuer Lando Norris in McLaren, Charles Leclerc is only two points behind in Ferrari. Verstappen has led the overall standings without interruption for over two years.
He emphasizes again and again that he wants to sit in the best car permanently. But even if Red Bull loses its dominant position, that wouldn't mean he would switch quickly. "That doesn't work. I'm long-term bound to the team and we're already working on the car for next year," said Verstappen. For months, it has been speculated that he could be Mercedes' successor to Lewis Hamilton in 2025. At least publicly, Verstappen does not give the impression that he is preoccupied with this.
That his British teammate Norris was in the fastest car last time out is not to his liking. "I'm already worrying about that. We have to get that under control," he said. The weekend in Spielberg will be particularly challenging because one of the six sprint weekends of the year is taking place. There is only one training session to optimally tune the car. Then, on Friday, it goes straight into qualifying for the sprint, on Saturday the race for eight WM points for the winner takes place over 100 kilometers, and a few hours later, qualifying for the Grand Prix follows.
## Route to Force last year upgraded
"We need to find a little more performance to gain a comfortable lead," said Verstappen: "If you look at our recent wins, we were at the front because we were there at the right moment and as a team we were simply strong." Horner, the British team chief, agreed: "It's important now that we put pressure because there are still many races to come." Therefore, technical improvements are expected. In terms of competition, the overall new thing is the width. "McLaren is doing a great job, Ferrari is not far behind and Mercedes has made progress," said Horner.
Meanwhile, an annoyance on the track was eliminated. Last year, drivers kept leaving the track and driving off the markings, resulting in a record number of 20 penalties. There were 130 deleted lap times, 84 Track-Limit infringements were dealt with. In the curves nine and ten, temporary gravel traps and gravel pits have been laid out to slow down the pilots. Anyone who goes in there despite that risks an exit or damage to the vehicle.
In the upcoming sprint weekend at the Red-Bull-Ring, Max Verstappen, the Formula-1 world champion, is aiming to strengthen his lead with another win, as his Red Bull Racing team faces an intense challenge. Despite leading the overall standings for over two years, Verstappen acknowledged the need for improvement, particularly in comparison to McLaren's tire wear performance.
Furthermore, Verstappen expressed his concerns about his British teammate Lando Norris having the fastest car in their previous race, emphasizing the importance of regaining control before the challenging sprint weekend.
