The Dutchman on the eve of the free practice in Austin is calm: “We have to grow compared to Turkey but I know that working is possible. Am I the most popular driver in a poll? My life is fulfilled! Nice, but I’m here to win the races “
“Worried about Mercedes? No, I’m not worried because I know we can make improvements. But we must take a step forward compared to Turkey ”. Max Verstappen commented on this weekend’s prospects for his Red Bull, which in Austin, Texas, is resuming the very tight world championship challenge with Lewis Hamilton.
We find out on Friday
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In Turkey the Dutchman has regained the lead of the standings, which now sees him 6 points ahead of his rival. But on the Texan track, Mercedes is usually strong and given the improvements shown by the W12 in Stuttgart in Sochi and Istanbul, a simple weekend is not expected: “In Turkey we have taken our heads again, it’s true – said Verstappen – but we have seen that there is to be done, the performance was not excellent. How are we going here? The track is different, in the simulator it seemed we were in good shape, but we’ll find out tomorrow after the first free practice sessions ”.
“The most popular? I withdraw! “
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However, Verstappen confirms that Mercedes has taken a decisive step forward: “They have certainly taken a step forward, but we have no control over this. We need to work and improve our package. I like this track, the first sector in qualifying, the last in the race because it offers overtaking opportunities ”. They tell Max that he was the most popular F1 driver in an international fan poll: “My life is fulfilled. It was what I always dreamed of and now I can retire! ” he joked. And Daniel Ricciardo, in a press conference with him, made fun of him: “Look, 12 voted!”. “Ah possible – replied Max – they were all my friends. Seriously it’s nice, but I’m here to win races ”.
World rankings
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These are the championship standings after the Turkish GP: 1. Verstappen (Ola) 262.5 points 2. Hamilton (GB) 256.5 3. Bottas (Fin) 177 4. Norris (GB) 145 5. Perez (Mes) 135 6. Sainz (Spa) 116.5 7. Leclerc (Mon) 116 8. Ricciardo (Aus) 95 9. Gasly (Fra) 74 10. Alonso (Spa) 58 11. Ocon (Fra) 46 12. Vettel (Ger ) 35 13. Stroll (Can) 26 14. Tsunoda (Gia) 18 15. Russell (GB) 16 16. Latifi (Can) 7 17. Raikkonen (Fin) 6 18. Giovinazzi (Ita) 1 Constructors 1. Mercedes 433, 5 2. Red Bull 397.5 3. McLaren 240 4. Ferrari 232.5 5. Alpine 104 6. AlphaTauri 92 7. Aston Martin 61 8. Williams 23 9. Alfa Romeo 7 10. Haas 0
21 October – 21:38
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