MONZA, Italy — Max Verstappen is focusing on a fourth world title this yr, however stated the result of the championship — win or lose — “won’t change my life.”
The Crimson Bull driver has a 70-point lead over Lando Norris with 9 races remaining, however completed the final race on the Dutch Grand Prix 22 seconds adrift of the McLaren driver.
Requested forward of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix if McLaren’s efficiency benefit in Zandvoort had made him involved about his championship probabilities, Verstappen stated: “Hear – I simply do the perfect I can. If I win it or not, it isn’t going to alter my life.
“Would I wish to win it? Sure, in fact. Nevertheless it’s not in my palms, with the efficiency of the automobile. I simply attempt to do the perfect I can, attempt to give suggestions, attempt to make it quicker.
“If it is going to be sufficient to the tip of the yr, I do not know.
“However I do know that we’ll give it all the things we’ve as a group, to try to be extra aggressive than what we confirmed, in fact, in Zandvoort, as a result of that was I feel only a very poor weekend for us. And simply go from there.”
Verstappen struggled with the dealing with of his automobile in Zandvoort — an issue that was exacerbated by sturdy winds and restricted follow time on account of moist climate.
The problems, which have been current for a number of races, continued regardless of Crimson Bull rolling again the specification of the ground on Verstappen’s automobile to higher perceive why upgrades had not resulted within the desired efficiency on observe.
The end in Zandvoort was described as “alarming” by Crimson Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, however Verstappen performed down the importance of the only race.
“I would not wish to name it a wake-up name,” he added. “Simply not the perfect weekend for us for various causes.
“We could not simply get the automobile to work how we needed it. In all probability the wind made it very tough for our automobile, with the stability points that we’ve.
“And yeah, it is simply not the strongest weekend.”
Going into this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, Verstappen has not received a race for 5 consecutive rounds.
Crimson Bull’s downturn in efficiency follows a record-breaking yr in 2023 — through which the group received 21 of twenty-two races — in addition to seven wins from the primary ten races of 2024.
“Would I wish to win extra? Sure, in fact,” Verstappen added. “However I additionally knew {that a} season like we had final yr may be very unrealistic.
“However did I count on it like this? Probably not — in fact, with how we ended and the way we began. So now it is as much as us to simply try to make it higher.
“However I do know that everybody is working flat out to make it higher.”