Max Verstappen has been the world champion for the past three years. The old horses like Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso do not seem to catch up to Verstappen’s race pace at all. In 2021, things were different, as Hamilton was still the most dominant driver in the grid. The Mercedes star was on his way to win his coveted eighth title until the Red Bull driver shattered the Briton’s dream into pieces. Moreover, the Red Bull car and Max Verstappen are just getting stronger every year.
Now, a lot of people speculate about what Verstappen’s future looks like. Previously, Max had said that he wouldn’t race as long as Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso have been doing. The Dutchman’s motivation is winning, and if he doesn’t have the car to win, he might even quit his F1 racing career. Then what? Would he be an F1 team principal like Christian Horner?
Max Verstappen Claims He Won’t Have Hamilton Or Alonso In His Dream F1 Team
Recently, in an interview with Auto Motor und Sport, a German publication, Max Verstappen said he would choose himself as a driver in his dream F1 team. If he had to be a team boss in the future, Max would not choose Sergio Perez, Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso as his teammate. He picked Lando Norris from McLaren. Clearly, the progress of McLaren in 2023 really impressed Verstappen and everybody. But the McLaren team can become more of a threat as well next season. Max Verstappen knows that and hence, tries to bring Norris as his teammate. Moreover, if he had to choose someone else in his place, then Max said, he would choose Oscar Piastri. The Norris-Piastri duo impressed Max Verstappen a lot. He feels they are a very good pair.
Lando Norris can be a little bit older than Piastri. But Max Verstappen feels Piastri is a smart guy and will win races in the future for sure. The three-time champion predicts both the McLaren drivers have a long career ahead and will win plenty of races. In the case of Oscar Piastri, Max feels he’s a fast rookie. But at present, he has a lot to learn and improve, for instance, his race pace. Anyway, Max Verstappen said it is hard from the current lot to pick who he wants to be his teammate. It’s because Max feels there are a lot of good drivers on the grid at the moment.
Since Winning Maiden Title In 2021, The Dutchman Never Looked Back
Max won his maiden title in 2021. Later, from 2022 till last year, Red Bull and Max have dominated the grid like never seen before. They have been unstoppable. In 2022, Max Verstappen won 15 races, and Red Bull won 17. But they had an even better season in 2023. Last year, Red Bull won 21 GPs out of 22. Max won 19 of those 21 race victories. Albeit, there were initially 23 races planned. However, the Imola flood forced the cancellation of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix last season.
Anyway, Ferrari won the only race that Red Bull didn’t win in 2023. Carlos Sainz Jr. was the winner of the Singaporean Grand Prix. But Red Bull proved that they have the fastest car on the grid in recent times. Otherwise, getting a better result than the 2022 season’s would have been impossible.
