Max Verstappen claims Red Bull are not going to become complacent in their fight against Ferrari despite their huge gap to the Italian team in 2022. The world champion is certain that his team will not ‘relax’ in the upcoming races, despite their massive gap to Ferrari in both championships.
Max Verstappen put on a show for fans at the historic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, winning the race despite having started P14 on the grid. The Dutchman started towards the back of the grid due to an engine grid penalty but was by far the fastest man on track on Sunday. The team scored yet another 1-2 finish in 2022, easily pipping Ferrari, who were completely off the Austrian team’s pace at Spa.
The reigning world champion now has a 98-point gap to rival Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ standings, while Red Bull have a whopping 118-point lead over Ferrari in the constructors’ standings.
Many have argued that the Milton Keynes-based team can now relax and comfortably secure both titles this year. Verstappen, however, feels it is not in the team’s nature to get complacent despite their great advantage points. Hey said:
“I think it would be wrong to relax. So many things can still go wrong, or can go right. I think that the intention for us is that we want to win more races this season. That’s how we approach the remaining races. Not only winning but we want to be consistent, we don’t want to retire. We had our little issues in the beginning but we’ll see how competitive we will be.”
Max Verstappen added:
“We want to win more races, we are not here to say ‘We can only finish second or third’. We don’t work like that, we always want the best, we want to win.”
Red Bull didn’t expect Max Verstappen to win 2022 F1 Belgian GP
Red Bull team chief Christian Horner was left in awe of Max Verstappen’s effortless victory at the 2022 F1 Belgian GP. He felt that the win along with the fastest lap and overall result made it one of the best weekends for his team.
Horner claimed he didn’t expect Verstappen to show the level of dominance that he did at Spa. He expressed surprise at managing to clinch the win and a 1-2 result for the team with Sergio Perez. Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, he said:
“I think that’s one of our biggest team performances. I never expected Max [Verstappen] to win that race and particularly get to the front so quickly, with Checo [Sergio Perez] right there as well, the fastest lap, a one-two finish, it couldn’t have been better for us today.”
Horner added:
“It was one of those weekends where we were just right in the window with our car and everything worked beautifully. It was an amazing performance; I think it’s absolutely right up there with the very best that we achieved back in 2010.”
Max Verstappen’s home race in Zandvoort is up next on the F1 calendar. However, the track is likely to favor Ferrari’s 2022 challenger given its twisty low-medium speed corners. Red Bull will try their best to get the jump on the Prancing Horses once again next weekend.
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