MONZA, Italy — Max Verstappen is concentrating on a fourth world title this 12 months, however mentioned the result of the championship — win or lose — “is not going to change my life.”
The Pink 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 possibilities, Verstappen mentioned: “Hear – I simply do the perfect I can. If I win it or not, it isn’t going to vary my life.
“Would I wish to win it? Sure, in fact. But it surely’s not in my fingers, with the efficiency of the automobile. I simply attempt to do the perfect I can, attempt to give suggestions, attempt to make it sooner.
“If it will be sufficient to the top of the 12 months, I do not know.
“However I do know that we will give it all the pieces now we have as a workforce, to try to be extra aggressive than what we confirmed, in fact, in Zandvoort, as a result of that was I believe 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 robust winds and restricted follow time because of moist climate.
The problems, which have been current for a number of races, continued regardless of Pink Bull rolling again the specification of the ground on Verstappen’s automobile to raised perceive why upgrades had not resulted within the desired efficiency on observe.
The end in Zandvoort was described as “alarming” by Pink Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, however Verstappen performed down the importance of the one race.
“I would not need 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 wished it. Most likely the wind made it very tough for our automobile, with the stability points that now we have.
“And yeah, it is simply not the strongest weekend.”
Going into this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, Verstappen has not gained a race for 5 consecutive rounds.
Pink Bull’s downturn in efficiency follows a record-breaking 12 months in 2023 — wherein the workforce gained 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 12 months 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.”
