Max Verstappen is just three points away from being crowned a triple world champion
Max Verstappen has insisted he is paying no attention to the outside noise over Red Bull’s chances of completing an unbeaten season in F1 2023, insisting the team must focus on maximising each race weekend.
Red Bull have won all of the opening eight races of the season to date, with Verstappen victorious at six (Bahrain, Australia, Miami, Monaco, Spain, Canada) and team-mate Sergio Perez triumphant twice in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan.
The team currently hold a 154-point lead over Mercedes in the Constructors’ standings, with Verstappen on course for a third consecutive Drivers’ title having opened up a gap of 69 points to Perez after a run of four successive wins.
Red Bull’s flawless start to the 2023 season has sparked speculation that they could become the first team to achieve a perfect winning record in Formula 1. The idea was initially voiced by Mercedes driver George Russell during the opening race weekend in Bahrain back in March.
In Formula 1 history, McLaren came closest to accomplishing this remarkable feat in 1988. Their formidable drivers Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost dominated the season, securing victories in 15 out of 16 races. Their sole miss came at Monza, where Gerhard Berger triumphed, marking the first win for Ferrari after the passing of the team’s legendary founder, Enzo Ferrari. The iconic MP4/4 car played a pivotal role in McLaren’s near-perfect campaign.
While acknowledging Red Bull’s impressive start to the season, Max Verstappen, who has claimed victory in 31 of the last 52 races since his championship-winning debut in 2021, remains cautious about external factors that could hinder the team’s pursuit of historic success.
Verstappen emphasizes the importance of maintaining focus on their own performance and disregarding the mounting expectations from the outside. In an interview with Forbes, he states, “What people are saying from the outside doesn’t really matter. Our focus should be on what we can control within the team and with the car, and that’s exactly what we are doing.”
He acknowledges the team’s strong start and their desire to sustain it, but he also acknowledges that circumstances throughout a race weekend can sometimes be beyond their control. With a long season ahead, Verstappen emphasizes the need to maximize their results at each race weekend.
As Red Bull prepares for their home race in Austria, where Verstappen has triumphed four times, including twice in the condensed 2021 season due to the pandemic, they aim to continue their flawless record in the current season. The 2019 race at the Red Bull Ring holds special significance as it marked the team’s first victory with engine partner Honda, achieved in a thrilling fashion by Verstappen.
