Sep.22 (GMM) Max Verstappen says he is not relying on “hope” as he drags himself back into contention for a fifth consecutive world championship.
After pole and victory at Monza, the Red Bull star repeated the feat in Baku – halving his deficit to Lando Norris from 88 to just 44 points in the last three race weekends.
And Verstappen is now 69 points behind the championship lead, with Oscar Piastri suffering an uncharacteristically error-strewn weekend.
“That’s almost three race wins,” he said. “That’s quite a lot, but we’re just going to do our best, and then we’ll see where we end up. I mean, I don’t rely on hope,” said the four time world champion.
The post-Horner Red Bull revival made Verstappen look like the runaway force of 2023 again – with the TV broadcast almost totally ignoring the Dutchman.
“That’s a good sign,” he laughed to Viaplay.
Still, the 27-year-old warned the true test lies ahead. “These were two low-downforce circuits, so we’ll have to wait and see what Singapore is like. That’s a completely different circuit, with much more tyre overheating.”
Oscar Piastri, though, said he will not cross his rival out of the fight. “I’m definitely not going to,” said the Australian.
“But if I reach a high level again, then I know I should be in a good position.”
He admitted Verstappen’s presence could change the dynamic in his intra-team title battle with Norris. “If Max is between me and Lando, then it’s only beneficial if I’m ahead of Lando,” said Piastri.
“If I’m behind Max, it’s actually detrimental.”
Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko, meanwhile, is cautiously upbeat – even about the fifth title for Verstappen being suddenly back on.
“Singapore is the only race Max hasn’t won,” he said. “Let’s see how it goes there.
If we win there, I’ll think about it too.”
McLaren boss Andrea Stella has now twice in two days insisted Verstappen is still in the hunt. “In terms of the drivers’ championship, we now have an interesting battle for the rest of the season,” he said.
Marko replied: “That’s just pessimism. Not only does Singapore require high downforce, but it’s also extremely hot, and those conditions aren’t ideal for our car.
“So Singapore will be a benchmark for assessing our true form.”
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