Las Vegas (AFP) – Max Verstappen played down his prospects of clinching a fourth consecutive drivers’ world championship at this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver, who claimed a spectacular victory in the rain-hit Sao Paulo Grand Prix three weeks ago, said that triumph had not proved that all his problems were over after a winless 10-race run. Speaking to reporters in Las Vegas, he said it was not certain that he would win again to take the 2024 title.
“At the moment, it’s difficult to tell because if you look at the last few races in the dry, of course we didn’t have the pace… It’s not that, because we won in the rain in Brazil, suddenly everything is fixed and everything is looking great again. Of course, it gave me a good position in the championship, but also I have to be realistic that we are not the quickest.
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“I hope that we can be competitive here. It’s still very unknown with the track temperatures, of course, and like last year very cold.” The Dutchman leads McLaren’s Lando Norris by 62 points in the title race with three Grands Prix remaining – and 60 points available at the final two races. This leaves Norris needing to beat Verstappen by three points in Las Vegas to keep his title challenge alive.
“For me, the pressure is from me because I want to do well always, every single weekend,” said Verstappen. “And it is not necessarily about the championship. I am just trying to enjoy the weekend as well and to see how competitive we can be. It is not decided yet so there are still points that we need to be scored. Really, it is about how quick I am and how good the car is more than anything else.”
In the last few races, McLaren has been the quickest, but last year, Ferrari was very fast here, and it can be different every year. “Other teams have upgrades compared to the last time here so it is difficult to say what can happen here at the moment.”
– Drivers ‘bit fed up’ with FIA –
Verstappen also expressed surprise at the sudden departure of race director Niels Wittich. The FIA said on the eve of the Grand Prix that the German had left his role to “pursue new opportunities,” but Wittich said he had been dismissed with three races remaining this year. Rui Marques has replaced him.
“I think everyone was very surprised to see that with three races to go,” said Verstappen, who added his support to the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association’s demands for the FIA to treat them “like adults” with greater consultation and transparency. The drivers also asked for president Mohammed Ben Sulayem to “consider his own tone and language when talking to our member drivers, or indeed about them.”
“We just wanted to send a letter to make sure that everyone is aware of our concerns and what we want to work on, and we’ll see what comes out of that,” said Verstappen. “At the moment, nothing has happened. I think there was a lot going on with the FIA anyway that they had to deal with – now we’ll see in the coming races and we’ll keep engaging.”
Mercedes’ George Russell said the FIA had not responded to their open letter and admitted drivers, in general, were “a little bit fed up with the whole situation.” “Getting things to change, or promises upheld, seems slightly more challenging,” he said. “Maybe the FIA or the president did not recognise how seriously we all felt.”
© 2024 AFP
