2023-08-31 09:17:04
And the shares of “Mad Max”, which dominates the championship’s capabilities, rise to break the record for the number of consecutive victories (9), which he shares with the former 4-time world champion German Sebastian Vettel, following he equalized with the former Red Bull driver as well, by winning the Dutch Grand Prix at the Zandvoort circuit last week.
Verstappen achieved at home and in front of the “orange tide” represented by the Dutch fans who accompanied the race, a landslide victory in difficult climatic conditions due to the rain, to enhance his credit at the top of the drivers’ standings to 339 points, 138 ahead of his Mexican teammate Sergio Perez.
The 25-year-old seems the most likely candidate to break his personal records in terms of the number of victories and points in one year, as he won 15 major prizes and scored 454 points last year.
Verstappen finds himself in front of the opportunity to break the record for the number of victories on a historic circuit famous for the “Temple of Speed”, where he won first place last year following a show of strength that saw him start from seventh place as a result of being penalized following his team changed the power unit.
British Red Bull technical director Adrian Newey said Wednesday that Verstappen has become “one of the all-time greats” following winning 11 out of 13 trophies this year and is competing in a championship of his own.
“Since winning the championship title in 2021, I think that has taken a lot of pressure off him, and his driving has improved a lot as a result,” he told Motorsport.
“He’s completely in tune (with himself). The thing regarding Max, like all true greats, is that you get the impression that he drives the car almost automatically, leaving a lot of processing power to think of everything.”
Indeed, the Red Bull team, which has consolidated its record number of consecutive victories (14 stretches from last season), does not face any real competition this year, as the closest chaser of its driver is Spanish veteran Fernando Alonso, who is 171 points behind him in third place, despite his The current Aston Martin driver is living his second spring at the age of 42.
Alonso, a former world champion twice with Renault, does not have a real chance of winning his third world title following 2005 and 2006, but he showed at the Zandvoort circuit that he is among the favorites to limit Verstappen’s dominance and prevent his 12th victory this year and the tenth in a row.
-Alonso on the right track-
Alonso finished second in the Netherlands, his 11th podium finish of the year, knowing that, like other drivers, he will not face the dilemma of rain in northern Italy, where a sweltering late-summer heat wave and fierce storms gave way to mild temperatures and sunny skies.
The Spanish “Matador” recorded the fastest lap at the end of last week and told his ambitious team, “We will win one race soon, and we are getting close,” following he won the runner-up title, just 3.7 seconds behind Verstappen.
Alonso’s second-place finish marked Aston Martin’s first podium finish since also finishing second at the Canadian Grand Prix in June, while Luxembourgian team principal Mike Crack (51) is optimistic ahead of his trip to Monza.
“After all the podiums in the first half of the season, then the tougher races, now finally and in a very difficult weekend we managed to get on the podium once more, which is great,” he said.
“We want to keep fighting as much as possible in this battle, and see where we end up. Everything is pointing in the right direction. I think we took a small step in Spa (Belgium), and I think we passed another step here (Zandvoort), but we also need confirmation.” That’s during the next races.”
For his part, Ferrari is hoping to reflect a better image in front of its fans following a shaky performance in Zandvoort. Spaniard Carlos Sainz finished fifth, while teammate Charles Leclerc from Monaco was forced to retire.
Leclerc, who started from pole position at the Monza circuit last year, arrived second behind Verstappen following the latter excelled in the maintenance strategy, and ended up in third place twice following starting from first place this year in the Azerbaijan and Belgium races.
1693474575
#Verstappen #win #tenth #row #Temple #Speed
