by VALERIO BARRETTA
The Verstappen era
Max's 2023 season Verstappen it is incredible and in some ways unrepeatable. With 19 victories in 22 grands prix, the Dutchman destroyed every record of successes in a year, whether counted absolutely or relatively, reaching and overtaking Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel and taking third place overall behind Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher. Numbers that seemed unattainable but which now appear sensationally closer, to the point that the question is no longer “if” Verstappen will take the Kaiser and Sir Lewis, but “when” he will do it.
Yes, when will he get them? It is clear that the other seasons are unlikely to be as profitable as 2023, but even with more normal numbers (hypothesis, from 10 to 15 season victories), Verstappen (54 victories) would get considerably closer to Schumacher (91) already at the end of this cycle of power unit which sees Red Bull dominant, while with Hamilton (for now at 103) we will have to wait longer.
Verstappen's words
Numbers, scenarios and hypotheses that would end up forgotten if Verstappen decided to take a step back from Formula 1, as threatened several times in the past. The three-time world champion repeated that he will only run until he feels at full strength from a physical and motivational point of view: “It's very simple. I will have this approach until the day I tell myself I can't do this anymore. And then I'll stop“, these are his words to The-Race. “I love competition and I like winning races, it doesn't bore me. I know if I ran at a lower intensity I wouldn't be at 100% of what I can do. And if I'm not giving 100%, then I get fed up and prefer not to drive“.
The threats of withdrawal
Verstappen has a solid and generous contract until the end of 2028. Red Bull, with a huge but judicious investment, built golden bridges to keep him in Milton Keynes, and the three-time world champion also had the clarity and skill to bet on the team that offered him the best chance of winning in the medium to long term. A “blind” bet, since the renewal arrived in March 2022, before the era of ground-effect cars officially began, when there was no certainty that Red Bull would become the dominant car that it is now. The one signed until 2028 could be the last contract of Verstappen's career: he will only be 31 years old, but the Dutchman has repeatedly said he is “fed up” with the current dynamics of F1, which according to him favors takings and collateral activities over action on the track.
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