Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen says he is not aiming to try and top his record-breaking achievements of last year over the upcoming campaign.
Verstappen took 19 grand prix victories, four sprint race wins, 12 pole positions, 21 podium finishes and led over 1,000 laps across 22 rounds last season, setting many new all-time records for Formula 1.Speaking to media including RaceFans at the launch of Red Bull’s new RB20 at the team’s Milton Keynes factory on Thursday, Verstappen said he was not thinking about trying to break his own records in 2024.
“These kind of things are very tough, I think, to top,” he said. “I think it’s also not even our goal.
“I think it’s just about trying to deliver another very competitive car and from my side, of course, I’ll try to deliver the best I can. But that depends on a lot of things that have to come together, so I guess only time will tell how quick we are.”
With heavy competition behind Red Bull last season between rivals Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Aston Martin, Verstappen says that Red Bull’s success this season is as much down to their rivals as them.
“Around us, people are learning more and more,” he said. “It’s not always that it’s up to us how great the season is going to be, because if you have more natural competition with different teams it’s even harder to win races.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Verstappen has already tasted the RB20 on track with a filming day at Silverstone on Wednesday. Asked what it was like behind the wheel of the team’s newest car, Verstappen replied “slippery, because it was wet and cold.”
“Everything was fine,” he continued. “It’s literally just a filming day.
“The car started up well. It’s about just making sure that once they’ve put the car together, that everything is running because basically from there the car gets sent to Bahrain. And that’s where it really starts, you really start to learn more about the car. You put a proper programme together and you do a lot of different kinds of running.”
Despite Verstappen winning the last three championships and Red Bull heading into 2024 as back-to-back defending constructors’ champions, he insists the team remain as eager as ever to win.
“Everyone is actually very motivated again,” he said.
“Of course, we are all very proud of what we have achieved last year and the years before, but we also are very proud of this car so far, in terms of the development. We’re just looking forward to starting the season and hopefully start to fight for wins again.
Bringing the F1 news from the source
RaceFans strives to bring its readers news directly from the key players in Formula 1. We are able to do this thanks in part to the generous backing of our RaceFans Supporters.
By contributing £1 per month or £12 per year (or the equivalent in other currencies) you can help cover the costs involved in producing original journalism: Travelling, writing, creating, hosting, contacting and developing.
We have been proudly supported by our readers for over 10 years. If you enjoy our independent coverage, please consider becoming a RaceFans Supporter today. As a bonus, all our Supporters can also browse the site ad-free. Sign up or find out more via the links below:
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Formula 1
- Pictures: Red Bull’s aggressive new sidepod design revealed in detail at test
- Pictures: New views of Mercedes W15 running in Bahrain test
- Pictures: 2024 F1 pre-season testing day one: Bahrain
- Pictures: Haas VF-24 officially presented as testing begins in Bahrain
- Driver line-up confirmed for sole pre-season F1 test
Vit
17th February 2024, 19:37
2024 season is already done and dusted to Max the red bull verstapen.
The only thing that remains is does Max wins all the races with overlapping everyone or not?
For Adrian the “genius” Newey (and his gang)to completely change the totally dominant 2023 car he must have been certain that the 2024 variant will be at least a full second per lap faster !!!!!!