Verstappen Warns Battle Against 'Best' Team Is 'Still Quite Tight'

F1
Friday, 09 August 2024 at 18:00
verstappen max redbull rbcp206
The leader of the Drivers' Championship, Max Verstappen, warned that the battle for the title is still quite tight despite his comfortable lead.
The triple World Champion Max Verstappen went into the summer break with a lead of 78 points in the Drivers' Championship (ahead of Lando Norris in the second place).
78-point lead means that even if he didn't attend the next three Grand Prix races and Norris won all of them, the Dutchman would still be in the lead of the Drivers' Championship.
Such a lead in the Championship has not been overturned for a very long time. However, Verstappen remains on his toes because he doesn't feel as if he has the title in his pocket. As reported by PlanetF1, he said:
“"I think if you look at the last five, six races, they [McLaren] for sure have been the best. Quite clear. That's fine. Fair play to them. I think they have done a great job."”
McLaren drivers have scored a podium in every single one of the last ten races (Red Bull has not), which underlines how consistently they and their cars perform.
“"From our side, we have a bit of work to do, a few things also to analyse over the break. From race one all the way to here, what we have done."”
The next race takes place in Verstappen's home country, the Netherlands. Here, he will be looking to get back on the podium after a four-race win drought.
This weekend will be crucial as it will show whether Red Bull has made some progress over the summer break and how it compares to other teams. Verstappen added:
“"And then try to fight back from Zandvoort, see if we can actually improve the situation, try to turn it around, try to be more competitive."”
“"I think the battle is in a way still quite tight, so when you make small mistakes it definitely can swing quite quickly."”