Max Verstappen insists he feels no pressure as his title fight with Lewis Hamilton enters the final phase.
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Verstappen is three points behind Hamilton with seven races outstanding this year and faces his first real chance to fight for the championship since making his Formula 1 debut in 2015.
However, in a press conference ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix this weekend, Verstappen insisted that losing the championship to Hamilton would have no real impact on his life.
“I always do my best and I know that the team always does their best,” said Verstappen. “If that’s enough, only at the end of the year, that’s an amazing achievement and that’s what we’re working for, isn’t it?
“But I think even if we finish second we will have had a great season and at the end of the day it won’t change my life. I enjoy what I do and I think it’s very important too . For me there really isn’t much to worry about. “
Max Verstappen will start at the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday from the end of the grid. Mark Thompson / Getty Images
The Red Bull team from Verstappen has not won a title since 2013 and has had to secure dominant championship victories for its main rival Mercedes for seven years in a row. But Verstappen said the mood on his team wasn’t putting any pressure on them.
“You shouldn’t really stress yourself,” he added. “I know my team are doing their best and they expect me to and I always try to make the best of it. That is why we are of course doing our utmost to achieve this success together, but nothing can be forced.
“You just have to work well and hard together and then at the end of the season we’ll find out where that takes us. Is it the first or the second? We don’t know.”
Hamilton, who has won seven titles in his career and is battling for a record eighth place, said different drivers handle pressure differently.
“I think you can decide … it’s not about ignoring it because it’s there, it’s understanding that what will be what will be,” said Hamilton. “All you can do is prepare as best you can, all you can do is give 100 percent and what is coming your way.
“I just don’t worry about these things. I’m very lucky that I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in the past, but had a great time, lots of growth, I’m not worried about ‘what if’. That is ahead.
“I’m trying to prepare now, that means I’ve done the work with the guys at the factory, Bono [Hamilton’s race engineer Peter Bonnington] and the team, and that we ultimately enjoy it. We have to enjoy it.
“What an amazing season it has been so far, it has been super exciting for the fans, who has been massively engaging with Netflix all over the world, new people are coming, we’re finally seeing two teams in a row, which is amazing, and of course we want to win . But you have to learn not to let it overtake everything in your life. “
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