Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has minimised the scale of his achievements in 2023 after another straightforward win in Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix.
With pole position, a win in the Sprint Race, and the 17th victory of his third world championship-winning season, Verstappen completed a perfect sweep of the Americas triple-header at Interlagos.
Victory in Brazil also means, regardless of what happens in the season-ending Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi GPs, Verstappen will have won 77 percent of the F1 2023 season’s races.
Verstappen‘s 2023 campaign is the most dominant in F1 history, surpassing Alberto Ascari‘s 1952 title-winning campaign, where he won 75 percent of the races.
That is not the issue. Verstappen told the media that he didn’t need to have a 75% win percentage over the course of a season in order to enter Formula 1.
These are the kinds of things that occur when everything just clicks. In the car, I feel good. The team hardly ever makes mistakes, and the car is fiercely competitive.“So you can get a season like we are having. For me, it’s more about just enjoying the moment and trying to maximise every single opportunity.”
Verstappen using his experience
Although he could pull away from
McLaren‘s Lando Norris during the race, the Brit kept Verstappen honest and briefly took the lead back on Lap 58 after the Dutchman’s second pitstop.
But victory was never in doubt for Verstappen, retaking the lead from Norris when he made his second stop on Lap 60, with the margin between the pair being eight seconds at the checkered flag
Verstappen‘s calm drive in Sunday’s race was another in a long line of routine race victories in 2023, which has seen him dominate proceedings without taking unnecessary risks or damaging his tyres.
“I didn’t anticipate him running into Turn 1.” Verstappen continued, “Had to use my battery a little bit and defend and maintain that gap for one lap.
“I don’t mind fighting, but I’ve also driven to P5 for many years in Formula One, winning two races a year.
“So I’m just embracing the moment and living in the now. I also like to drive, up front with a little gap.”
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