Three-time world champion Max Verstappen made some important statements, during Pirelli’s Box Box podcast.
In Formula 1, mentality is a key, if not crucial, component of getting to the top and staying there. Max Verstappen knows something about this, who, during an interview with the Pirelli podcast “Box Box”, spoke about this very topic but not only.
Red Bull’s driver, engaged in the World Championship battle with Lando Norris, spoke in these terms about mental strength in the world of F1, making a comparison with Pirelli tire compounds: “It depends. Because in competition you have to have a tough mindset. Even if only to get to Formula 1. In your personal life, however, you can be a little softer. So, I am probably a middle ground, a medium, because I am both hard and soft. I would choose a medium compound.”
From mindset to tracks, indeed one in particular: “I would like Mugello on the calendar,” Max said. “It is a track with a sequence of very fast turns. In the World Cup there are so many ‘stop and go’ circuits, this one on the other hand has a fantastic series of fast corners“. At the moment, however, it seems impossible to see the Tuscan circuit on the calendar again since Monza and Imola themselves could play for a single spot in 2026.
Helmut Marko on Max’s retirement and the 2024 World Cup
No word about the “complicated” relationship with the FIA and the possibility of retirement in 2028. In this regard, however, Helmut Marko intervened with these words: “It is very important for him to have fun, and if he were to stop doing that he might actually decide to quit. I hope the current situation will not lead him to an early retirement.”. And on the relationship with the top management of Liberty Media: “He had not offended anyone, and in any case he was not referring to a person, but to a car that is an object. If the will is to move toward a stricter approach, then it is right that we change our attitude, but personally I think it is excessive.”
Marko ha affrontato anche il tema dei progressi Red Bull che, in questo mese di pausa, ha lavorato duramente per lottare ad armi pari con McLaren: “Siamo fiduciosi che le modifiche apporteranno un miglioramento significativo alle prestazioni della nostra monoposto. We firmly believe that Max can take another victory, and Sergio is ready to fight for a place among the leaders. He can finish 3rd or 4th°”.
Photo: Red Bull