Max Verstappen, a world champion with a new attitude on the track

In Abu Dhabi last year, Max Verstappen changed dimension. Although he has always been one of the most talented drivers on the grid, he was still missing one step: becoming world champion. It is precisely on this point that Lewis Hamilton had played in 2021, emphasizing the pressure that the Dutchman must have felt on the eve of his first title. This year, it is therefore with a new status that the world champion began the season. At the wheel of the RB18, this change of category did not really disrupt him, as evidenced by his 7 victories in 2022.

But what is most striking when looking at Max Verstappen's driving style is his ability now to forgo fights in order to attack better later. This was seen in Austria with Charles Leclerc. The pilot Red Bull had not really tried to defend himself at turn 3. So, would the world champion have become wiser? “ I grant you that I understood one thing: when someone is faster than you, it makes no sense to fight like a madman. Especially since with these new cars, defense is less easy. On the other hand, it is easier to follow and attack. So I tell myself that I will have other opportunities », underlines Max Verstappen in an interview with the Team.

Give up to better attack, Max Verstappen's new motto

This change in attitude while driving his car would therefore come from the new technical regulations of 2022. “ Last year, if I was aggressive it was because the cars were hard to follow and if the opportunity presented itself, you had to go for it. We probably wouldn't have any more. This year it's different », recalls the Red Bull driver, still determined to win everything in his path. This year therefore, no more duels which often ended in retirement like at Monza or Silverstone.

If it was Max Verstappen who was going to feel the title pressure in 2021, the Dutchman has now passed it on to Charles Leclerc. It is no longer with Mercedes that Red Bull is fighting on the track for the first places, but the Team. Until the French Grand Prix, the intensity of the duel on and off the circuits of 2021 has not been found and the world champion sees this favorably. “ I really like the mutual respect that there is this year between the drivers and the teams. Of course, we all want to win and when we lose we are disappointed. But I find that this Championship delivers good vibrations », Estimates the 24-year-old pilot.

Mutual respect between the two rivals

Since Bahrain, Max Verstappen has especially found his battles on the track with his long-time rival karting, Charles Leclerc. “ We've known each other for so long and we're so similar in combat. We both know how to go to the limit because we've done it before », recalls the Dutchman. Could the battle to become world champion push them, like in 2021, to cross the limits? “ He always was, but in a good way, like me. In karting already, we both had some great battles », insists the Red Bull driver on the aggressiveness of Charles Leclerc.

But before becoming a winning machine, the Dutchman still had to adapt his driving to these new 2022 single-seaters. Driving these cars is very different from before. We had to change a lot of things, especially since the car was very heavy on our side. It wasn't easy to start in these conditions. », Specifies the world champion. From the first winter tests, any possible fears were quickly swept away. “ There was a possibility that we were wrong. So during the tests in Barcelona and Bahrain, I obviously thought about it. As long as the car is good... And when I did my first laps, I said to myself that it seemed well born », Points out Max Verstappen. With hindsight, Red Bull's 8 victories in 12 rounds confirmed Max Verstappen's feeling at the start of the season. In Hungary, the world champion could end his first half with a victory which would bring him a little closer to his second crown.

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