Max Verstappen is willing to fight another championship down to the wire even if it is in the 24-race-long calendar in 2023. The Dutchman believes he is as prepared for an intense championship fight as for any other season.
Asked by Sportskeeda if he was ready to have another repeat of the 2021 season in the future, particularly with a long calendar, the Dutchman replied:
“If you’re not prepared, then it’s better to stop already, right? I mean, I think we’re all racers and we love racing. Of course it’s just that it’s nice to have a season like I had last year but it’s also nice to have a season like I have this year. It just would be very tough if you have that every single year you know, the year I had last year but that also doesn’t really happen in Formula 1 so it should be okay.”
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Although he enjoyed a straightforward championship in 2022, Max Verstappen believes that a season like 2021 is not a common occurrence in F1. The Dutchman, however, feels he is well prepared for a back-and-forth battle over the 24-race-long calendar in 2023, despite its intensity and pressure. While he claimed to be ready for an intense battle, the double world champion also feels that such fights every year would be exhausting.
Meanwhile, his 2022 title rival Charles Leclerc felt he too was well prepared for an intense 24-race-long battle if the championship were to go down to the wire in 2023. Hoping for a closer title battle next year, the Ferrari driver desired a fight until the last race.
Answering the same question as the Dutchman, the Ferrari driver said:
“Yeah, I agree. I think we are all prepared for longer seasons. I hope it will be tight. It’s always nice to have a fight until the end. But yeah, I’m prepared for more races and for a longer fight hopefully.”
Max Verstappen believes 2022 has been an enjoyable season
Max Verstappen believes he and the Red Bull Racing team were able to enjoy the 2022 season more than they did last year. Despite a glitchy start to his title campaign, the Dutchman believes they were able to enjoy every moment of the season and was surprised they were able to turn the tables in the championship. While he feels it will be difficult to replicate such dominance again, the reigning champion hopes he and Red Bull can up the ante in 2023.
Describing his dominant season in the post-race press conference in Abu Dhabi, Max Verstappen said:
“It has been a great team effort, especially after our tough start to the year, to turn it around like that, I would have never imagined that, like nobody in the team. But it’s been really enjoyable to be part of this team. We have a lot of fun. Of course, we focus on the performance but you also need to really enjoy the moment, appreciate the moment. And I think we definitely did that. We will do but we already so focusing on next year. You always say you try to do better. I know it’s hard to do a lot better than this but you should always try to aim for that.”
The Dutchman has not only broken records but also earned the respect of his peers and critics in 2022 for his driving quality. Max Verstappen has set two new records of his own this season: one for the maximum number of points scored in a single season and one for the maximum number of wins secured in a season.
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