Formula 1: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen makes a big claim and says I don’t look up to the greats of F1 history as idolizing someone only makes ‘you lose’. After winning his maiden F1 title last year, he registered his name amongst the F1 greats like Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Ayrton Senna, and others. Follow Formula 1 and French GP LIVE updates with InsideSport.IN
MAX VERSTAPPEN. WORLD CHAMPION!!!
A stunning season by an extraordinary talent#HistoryMade #F1 @Max33Verstappen pic.twitter.com/FxT9W69xJe
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 12, 2021
Verstappen was compared to the late Ayrton Senna and he said, “To be honest, I’ve never had an idol, although I have extremely respected many athletes for their achievements. But I’ve never had anyone to emulate. I’ve only ever looked after myself.”
“If you are completely addicted to an idol, if you want to copy a hero, you can only lose – because you can only be as good as possible, but never better. That’s why I’ve always tried to be myself. I don’t want to and can’t compare myself to others. At the end of the day, I want to be able to say to myself that I did my best work as often as possible,” Verstappen added.
By bringing home the championship in 2021, he joined an elite band of races over a significant time span who have become commonly recognized names for their accomplishments in F1. He actually has quite far to go prior to accomplishing a similar status to Michael Schumacher and rival Lewis Hamilton. However, he stays six titles behind those two greats.
LEWIS HAMILTON IS A SEVEN TIME WORLD CHAMPION!#TurkishGP 🇹🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/gOGfeEZxp8
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 15, 2020
In any case, Verstappen demands that such correlations don’t intrigue him. He guarantees he is focused exclusively on accomplishing as much as he can during his career. Meanwhile, the achievements of others are of no outcome to that objective.
Verstappen is presently in the best situation to come out on top for this season’s championship, on account of his 38-point lead over his closest challenger Charles Leclerc. Consecutive titles would be a remarkable accomplishment, and he accepts his group will actually want to give him vehicles in which he can keep on battling for the title for the upcoming years.
Leclerc moves back up into P2 👀#AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/OOM87JSHNf
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 10, 2022
“I also believe that we will have top material in the next few years. But I prefer to keep the ball low and concentrate on the here and now. What I’ve learned is that the balance of power can change quickly in Formula 1,” Verstappen added.
“On the other hand, I feel and like that Formula 1 is a team sport. It’s in your hands alone on Sunday and you represent hundreds of people who have done everything before to put you in the best possible position. Whenever I destroy a car or parts of it, my first thought is that I have given these helpers a lot of work unnecessarily. I want to win as many titles as possible. But I don’t waste any thought on how many there could be, because – as I said – one always depends on the material. If I don’t make it, I certainly won’t fall into depression,” Verstappen concluded.
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