Max Verstappen ended his championship season with a victory in Abu Dhabi. The Red Bull Racing driver answered questions about the past race and summarized the season.
Q: Max, you ended the season the same way you started – with a win in dominant style. You seemed unreachable. How gratifying is this result in Abu Dhabi?
Max Verstappen: Of course, a good race. In the first part I didn’t know what to expect because I wasn’t going to work on long series. At the very beginning I tried not to act so aggressively, believing that this was better than immediately attacking and destroying the tires.
It took me a few laps to find out – it turned out the Medium tires weren’t as good as expected. I had to go to the pits like everyone else. With the Hard tires the situation was better: it was easier to maintain the temperature and I increased the lead with every lap. The race turned out to be relatively easy. Even though I couldn’t complete a long series of laps, the car looked pretty good.
Q: You said you weren’t too aggressive in the early laps. This allowed Charles Leclerc to ride at your pace?
Max Verstappen: No. Of course I didn’t mean that I was relaxed on the first lap.
Q: Tell us about your fight with Charles?
Max Verstappen: Good fight. We had a great fight. I didn’t expect Charles to try to turn left in Turn 6, but it was a great move. I imagine he was thinking at the same time about his team’s situation in the Constructors’ Championship. Like I said, good fight. I like it.
Question: This season you have reached the mark of 1000 laps led in a race. Are these statistics impressive?
Max Verstappen: I knew I could set this record because we discussed it before the race. For this performance we developed a strategy that prevented me from going to the first pit stop too early, forcing me to wait for the others to stop. The strategy wasn’t the most optimal, but I wanted to stay on track and do these laps.
Q: You broke a lot of records this season. When you retire in a few years, what will you remember most about 2023?
Max Verstappen: I think team spirit. Not so much the wins, poles or laps, but the fun we had as a team. It’s great to win, but it’s important that there is a good atmosphere and that everyone has fun.
I work with a small group of people on a team, and our collective performance will not exceed our individual performance. It’s nice to see everyone at work and how they do their best for me every day.
Question: The fate of the championship title was decided five races before the end of the season. How did you manage to stay motivated?
Max Verstappen: That’s how I was raised. I simply can’t get on stage and not give 100%. Doing that only makes me angry at myself and annoys the people around me.
My attitude hasn’t changed after winning the championship. I came to the race weekend and tried to do my best. You know, it’s great to win. Why would I give up winning when I have the chance to win?
When I see an opportunity, I try to do my best for myself and for the team. When you have such a fast car at your disposal, you want to succeed and set new records.
Question: We heard on the radio that you told the team that Sergio Perez could get into the pits first. Did you say that because the tires were in good condition and you could stay on the track longer?
Max Verstappen: No, I was just trying to reach the 1000 lap lead for the season. I knew such a possibility existed. I mentioned this to Gianpiero Lambiase to make sure he didn’t call me too early. But he knew it himself. The tires were in good condition, not perfect, but good, so it was decided to stay on the track longer.
Question: Obviously the 2023 car is better than last year. Have you yourself increased compared to 2022? If so, in which aspects?
Max Verstappen: Yes, the car as a whole is better than last year and we have had no technical problems or malfunctions. As for me, I try to get better every year, to achieve more.
In this case I am talking about the total experience in Formula 1, about working more efficiently during race weekends. Some weekends we did better than others. And besides, it was important to try to avoid serious mistakes, prevent serious damage to the car, taking into account budget constraints and the like. I think we did quite well.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
