The return to China is a particularly impressive demonstration of Max Verstappen’s gigantic run in recent years: But how long can it go on like this?
You have to let this fact melt in your mouth: When Formula 1 last stopped off in China five years ago, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen had just five Grand Prix victories to his name!
Corona then came and kept Formula 1 away from the Middle Kingdom, while at the same time the Dutchman’s triumphal march in the premier class began: Verstappen now has 57 race wins, is a three-time world champion and is already leading the world championship again …
For Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, one thing is clear when it comes to his superstar: “He’s in impressive form. He has changed his coach over the winter: he is fit, he is slim and the car is also in a good window,” says Horner, who is particularly impressed: “You can hear how much free capacity he still has in the car. He not only wants to know who is behind him, but also who is driving behind him – and what times they are setting.”
“That capacity is very impressive. So yes, the form he already had last year has simply been maintained,” believes Horner and does not want to rule out the possibility that it has not even improved in some areas: “He has become very astute when it comes to handling the tires. The way he keeps his tires alive longer is very impressive.”
And leads Horner to the following conclusion with regard to Verstappen: “He already has a very wise head, on still quite young shoulders.” This begs the question of how many more records the 26-year-old will be able to collect in this form over the next few years?
“That’s a very good question, because I think you see the potential for all the records in the world every 14 days, or every weekend, at the race,” explains former racing driver and TV expert Christian Danner on Sport und Talk aus dem Hangar-7 on ServusTV.
Does Verstappen drive until he has caught up with Hamilton?
Danner: “I think the only thing that can stop Verstappen from breaking all records, including the great records of Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, is simply the possibility that at some point he won’t like what he’s doing anymore. Because it becomes too much, because the stress of traveling or 24 races simply becomes too much for him.”
Verstappen has already indicated several times in the past that he does not want to drive Formula 1 until the day he dies, as he is also interested in other racing series and events, such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With a view to the increasingly full calendar of the premier class, Danner says: “I can imagine him saying: ‘You know what? This far and no further’.”
However, the ex-racing driver does not believe that this day could come soon: “As long as he enjoys it as much as he does now, we don’t have to worry at all. He’s already been driving for a while.”
Verstappen is currently 46 Grand Prix victories short of Lewis Hamilton’s all-time record (103). Red Bull’s superstar has proven just how quickly that can happen since the last China Grand Prix …
