Max Verstappen insists his motivation remains high despite facing the likely end of his Formula 1 title defense. The four-time world champion enters this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix a significant 97 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri, with just 10 rounds left.
Why it matters:
- Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has already ruled Verstappen out of a record-equalling fifth consecutive title.
- This marks the first time in Verstappen’s F1 career that he has failed to defend his crown.
- The issues with Red Bull’s RB21 have made a fifth consecutive title bid challenging.
Verstappen's Perspective:
Verstappen stated that it’s “not that hard” to stay motivated, even as his title defense falters. He emphasized focusing on the future rather than dwelling on current setbacks.
"There will be a time that it won’t happen. Unfortunately, that is a bit the case at the moment," Verstappen told media at Zandvoort. "But it doesn’t make sense for me to be frustrated or be screaming about it, because it’s just a waste of energy. That’s not what I’m doing. I think we just need to look at the car and the operation and how we can move forward in the future and be better. That’s what we are doing currently."
Home Race Hopes:
Motivation is not an issue for Verstappen at his home race in Zandvoort, where wet weather could potentially cause chaos. He has claimed three victories here since its return to the F1 calendar in 2021, though Lando Norris denied him a fourth last season.
While Verstappen expects to be closer to McLaren than Red Bull was in Hungary, he does not believe the Zandvoort circuit will ideally suit the RB21.
"I would hope so! That was not a great weekend for us, so I hope that we can be closer," Verstappen said regarding his performance expectations. "I don’t think this is going to be our best track in the remainder of the calendar, but then again, there might be some weather coming in as well. So that always creates a bit of chaos, so we just need to see what happens."