Mentality of the current Formula 1 world champion is “unique” according to Formula 1 insider, who also reveals that “Verstappen wants to destroy his opponents”.
Max Verstappen is already leading the drivers’ standings again after the first three races of the 2023 Formula 1 season. The defending champion has only one goal for this year: to become world champion for the third time. His uncompromising will to win already makes him a unique racing driver, a view shared by F1 ‘insider’ Tom Clarkson.
‘Truth’ is revealed about Verstappen’s mentality
After 35 race wins by now and two world championship titles in 2021 and 2022, there would be no doubt for one of the best-known voices within Formula 1 that Max Verstappen will rise to a level with the very greatest legends of motorsport.
Clarkson therefore can reveal ‘truths’ from the inside of the paddock.
“He’s bloody fast, that’s obvious. But I’ve never met a racing driver as hungry for success as Max Verstappen,” said Tom Clarkson, who has been a household name in the F1 circus for years as the host and presenter of Formula One press conferences.
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In the podcast “F1 Nation”, in which Clarkson exchanged views with former world champion Damon Hill on the first races of the season, the British man said:
“He doesn’t just want to win. He wants to destroy the people around him, which means his toughest competitors.”
A classic example of this, he said, was the second race in Saudi Arabia. Starting the race in 15th place, Max Verstappen still ended up in what should have been an excellent second place. Nevertheless, the Dutchman made it clear after crossing the finish line:
“I’m not here to finish second.”
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The genius of Ayrton Senna… 30 years ago today! 🤯#F1 #OnThisDay pic.twitter.com/RgUgSOJiVs
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 11, 2023
Winning is “not boring” for Verstappen
“Everyone else would have thought this was a great weekend,” said Clarkson, who drew the comparison to Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez:
“Look at Perez last race in Melbourne. He starts in the pit lane, comes fifth and was very happy. I can’t imagine Max Verstappen being happy with fifth place, even after starting from pit lane.”
The journalist, who has been responsible for the official interviews around the sessions at race weekends for many years, settled:
“When I watch Max, I don’t see any weakness. As long as Red Bull is competitive, Max will just keep winning. The more he wins, the more he wants to. He won’t get bored.”
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Hamilton too was like that. But his approach was “Win at all costs” like Schumacher. He is willing to physically destroy the opponents like he did at Silverstone – a deliberate attempt to physically eliminate his opponent. Anyone with the least conscience would have regretted his evil deed and accepted AD 21 as justice done. But not Hamilton. His yelling on the radio “He turned into me, he turned into me” was quickly thought and well-orchestrated. It was a travesty of all that is fair in racing. Anyone who is half blind could have seen that it was the ugliest deed ever in F1.
Verstappen likes to ‘destroy’ with his sublime racing, not with dirty tricks. Much after the retirement of Hamilton and his screaming fan girls, when the proper and truthful history of F1 is wriiten, this fact will be recorded for posterity.
Funfact. Hamilton has always accused Verstappen having his first title ‘gifted’ to him. Wich is funny because we all know that Hamilton has been given six out of his seven titles. He just happened to be the one behind the wheel of the fastest car.
The only title that even his most ardent fans say he really had to fight for was his first. But we know now that that one also turns out to be a gift from the fia. Tnx to Phelipe Massa we now know that the infamous race where Nelso Piquet jr , deliberately crashed into the wall, should have been taken out of the score. If they had done so, Massa would be wdc, not Hamilton. So every single wdc title of Hamilton has been a gift. His whole career based on luck. Not on skill.
maybe there will be a time in Max’s future when he will be driving a car that isn’t so quick as the Red Bull is now, but do you think he will ever state on the radio (when not in the points) that they should just retire the car and save the engine?
when Michael Schumacher came out of retirement and was driving the first iteration of the Mercedes before Lewis took his seat, did he ever suggest to retire from a race to save an engine because they weren’t in the points?
has any driver ever, in the history of the sport, complained about their seating position in the car being the reason they are not competitive?
Lewis is a great driver, let’s not mince words, but when you look at the peculiar things he says and does it makes you scratch your head.
the real issues arise when you look at how he has competed against teammates that are actually competitive, his actual greatness isn’t represented by the number of WDC he has. when you compare him against real teammates he truly can only be considered slightly better than a Jenson Button, or a Nico Rosberg, and maybe on par with Fernando Alonso.
by the time Max retires, he may not have 7 WDC, but I think by the time he retires he will be considered a far greater driver than Lewis.