“Max Verstappen has asserted his dominance in Formula 1 over the last two seasons, clinching his first World Championship title in 2021. However, as questions arise regarding a potential lack of excitement, the question remains: are his accomplishments truly acknowledged?”
F1 World Champion Max Verstappen hit out at critics of his dominance over the field and believes any purple patch for any driver must be ‘appreciated’.
The Red Bull driver wrapped up a third title early this season at the Qatar Grand Prix and has since gone on to break his own record for most race victories in a single campaign.
With two races left, Verstappen has confirmed he will also break Alberto Ascari’s 71-year-old record for percentage of wins in a season, underlining the form he and his team have displayed across the year.
Speaking to Dutch media including RacingNews365 and eurosportplux, Verstappen explained: “You do everything you can to win and once you get that, you try to hold onto that for as long as possible.
On what he finds difficult with his domination, Verstappen added: “Depends, if you are that person, then nothing! If you’re not that person, then of course it’s not so nice. But if you are that person, it’s nice.
“If you’re a fan [of ours], of course, it’s great too and if you are not a fan of a particular person or team, you don’t like it as much.
“In the end, it’s about looking at performance, not the boring dominance.
“You always have different opinions, some people can’t see that. Some do. Or don’t want to see it, that’s also a difference.”
‘You can appreciate the performance’
Verstappen’s streak of three World Championships is something only Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel have achieved this century.
The control over the field has led to concerns over the lack of excitement at the front of the field but the Dutchman has insisted any patch of dominance should be appreciated: “Michael Schumacher I have a hard time remembering, but the early Red Bull years with Sebastian Vettel, I wasn’t necessarily of the opinion that Seb should win or anyone else, but you can appreciate the performance of the person.
“Of course, as a general fan you want a little more excitement or other teams winning, but you should also be able to appreciate when one team dominates because they are obviously doing better than someone else.”
