World champ makes it very clear: I don’t need a partner to drive me on IT’S MAX VERSNAPPEN
BY
MAX VERSTAPPEN says he doesn’t need a team-mate to help him scale new heights – even if that would be Lewis Hamilton.
F1 champion Verstappen’s team boss dropped a bombshell in the run-up to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, claiming Hamilton’s father Anthony contacted him to enquire about Sergio Perez’s seat for 2024.
Hamilton, who dismissed rumours he was seeking a switch from Mercedes to Verstappen’s Red Bull, could only finish 11th ahead of today’s final Grand Prix.
It summed up the Brit’s season so far. Talking to engineer Peter Bonnington on team radio before returning to the pits, Hamilton said: “There’s something wrong with this car, mate.”
And the seven-time world champion (right) could only watch on as Verstappen took pole – the 32nd of his career – to put him level with Nigel Mansell.
Verstappen hinted that onetime title rival Hamilton is not in the elite, saying: “It doesn’t bother me, regardless of Lewis. There are so many good drivers.
“There may come a time when I have someone next to me who makes it harder for me, but I am not concerned with that at the moment.
“Sometimes people say that, as a driver, you need the pressure of a team-mate. But I don’t need that to perform. I can beat anyone. That’s always been my approach.
“But it’s not like when I’m sitting on the couch at home, I spend all day telling myself, ‘I’m the best, I’m the best, ha ha’. But having so much confidence in my own ability, that works well for me.
“I thought that way back in 2015, in my first year of Formula 1. Then, of course, I wasn’t in the best car and I knew very well that I still had a lot to learn, but I didn’t doubt my own ability.” Verstappen has dominated all season and the juggernaut continued in the Middle East. The Dutchman was 0.139 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc, while Mclaren’s Lando Norris appeared to lose a chance for pole with a final-lap error. Verstappen added: “It can hardly get any better. I don’t think there have been many seasons in the history of the sport that have gone this way. At the same time, I don’t dwell on it so much. Now that I am fighting for the championship every season, there is a different mentality. “There were years when I could be happy if I won one or two races. Those were special moments. Now, during such a year it is more a matter of ticking off the list. That may sound strange, that’s how it is when you’re fighting for the title.” Verstappen is sure he will never again drive for any F1 team other than Red Bull, adding: “That is my thought.”