Max in Montreal: 'I hope more teams can get closer'
Published on 15 June 2023 by Stefan Meens
Ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen arrives in the Montreal paddock with confidence following wins in five of the first seven races of the 2023 Formula 1 championship. The other two Grands Prix were won by Max’s Oracle Red Bull Racing team mate Sergio Perez, highlighting the dominance of the Milton Keynes based outfit.
“Of course it’s good to have a bit of competition”, says Max after being asked if he would rather have an easy season or a fight down to the wire. “I loved 2021, but also 2022. At the start of last year, we had some issues with reliability and the car was a little bit heavy. But at the end of the season, the car was pretty dominant.”
The double champion continued: “I understand that in general people will get bored if one team dominates. We’ve seen the same with Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull in the past. I hope that more teams are able to get closer so another team can win when there’s a little problem or if you can’t get the set-up 100% right.”
That does not mean that winning has become boring for the Dutchman. “No, this is better than anything”, smiled Max who, by winning the Canadian Grand Prix, could match Ayrton Senna’s 41 race wins in Formula 1.
“We now have more races than in the past, so I don’t really look at the numbers. But as a little kid, I couldn’t imagine being on that list. It’s a great achievement, but you can’t really compare it.”
Despite Red Bull’s strong form in the 2023 campaign thus far, Max does not think it is likely the team will win all races. The other two-time champion on the grid, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso could be a potential winner. “He is a real racer and he deserves it. He never gave up and he loves the sport. Sometimes I thought, after so many years in the midfield you must lose a little bit of love for the sport. But he’s a real racer, an animal. So I’d like to see Fernando win a race this year.”
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