MONZA, Italy: For Max Verstappen it’s not about records, it’s about winning.
The Red Bull driver could do both at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday as he looks to firmly etch his name in the Formula One record books.
Having equaled Sebastian Vettel’s F1 record of nine straight victories at the Dutch GP last weekend, Verstappen can break it on the famous Monza track.
But the 25-year-old is focused on one sole thing: the victory.
“I mean, I never thought that I would win nine in a row, first of all,” Verstappen said. “But yeah, now that we are here, of course I’ll try to win 10, but it’s more about that I want to just win.”
Vettel set the consecutive wins record in 2013 with Red Bull during its first dominant era — when he won four straight titles — and Verstappen remembers how astounded he was as a teenager when he saw the German driver achieve that feat.
“I remember when he did it, I said ‘Wow, that’s just a crazy number.
I think no one ever will do something like that’,” Verstappen said. “And here we are .
. .
but I’m also not really too fixated on it.”
Few would bet on Verstappen bettering that “crazy number” at Monza in a season he is overwhelmingly dominating.
Last weekend’s win increased his huge championship lead to 138 points as he races toward a third straight world title.
Verstappen also moved closer to his own F1 record of 15 wins set last year and onto 46 overall — already fifth all-time in wins. Alain Prost (51) and Vettel (53) are within his sights with nine races left.
And people are already talking about Verstappen being considered one of the all-time greats, despite his relatively young age.
“Well, I mean, everyone, of course, has their own opinion about these kind of things,” Verstappen said.
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