“You could say yes”: Max Verstappen points to silver lining on being worried about McLaren’s rising ascendancy in 2024

Max Verstappen believes that his confidence in his abilities is the key to effectively managing pressure during the upcoming triple-header in the Americas. Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, the Red Bull driver expressed indifference towards the pressure of winning the championship in 2024.

Following a challenging post-summer break, especially with McLaren's recent surge, Red Bull has struggled and lost its lead in the constructors' championship. However, Verstappen remains unfazed, emphasizing his confidence in his own potential. He is focused on giving his 100 percent every time he sits in the car, without feeling pressured to secure the championship title. He acknowledged that the title momentum could shift in either direction but chose to concentrate on one race weekend at a time.

Asked by Sportskeeda if McLaren’s edge put pressure on him and the driver’s championship going into the triple header, the 27-year-old said:

“I mean, you could say yes, but I'm not. Because I know that when I jump in the car, I try to do the best I can. When the car is capable of good results, all -delivered results, and when it's not, then it will be a bit more difficult. Of course, naturally I like to win races and championships, but if it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it does. It's how life is.”

“Yeah, because you say you win it or not, thats why I say 50/50. I don’t like to think about it a lot. Like I said, I just live from race weekend to race weekend, because otherwise you're just putting unnecessary thoughts in your head, which also costs energy, which I don't want to waste on,” he added.

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Max Verstappen reckons that the upgrades on Red Bull might not swing the performance entirely

Red Bull has introduced a heavily upgraded car, but their title rivals McLaren have done the same. With only a single session to test these upgrades during the sprint format weekend in Austin, both teams face the challenge of relying on data to fine-tune their setups.

Max Verstappen expressed confidence that the upgrades would make a difference, although he does not anticipate a significant swing in performance. He explained that during sprint weekends, with limited time for testing, it's difficult to fully assess the parts, so the team relied on data and feedback from the engineers to guide their adjustments.

“Well, if you look at the pace in Singapore, the difference for sure not but every track is different we know that. Singapore is not our strongest track anyway but I don't expect that suddenly the thing it's gonna be completely different and we are gonna be the dominating car if we have our limitations with this car already the whole year. Now we're trying to make it better but yeah don't expect it to completely swing,” he said.

“Yeah, you rely more on data then because in one session it's very hard because you just start with the car, right? That's the package and you try to balance it, try to find the best setup on it and then you rely of course on the data also from the engineers if they're happy with the upgrade,” he added.

Verstappen has faced challenges in securing a win ever since the Spanish GP in June. Currently, he leads the drivers’ championship by 52 points, while Red Bull trails McLaren by 41 points in the constructors’ standings. According to championship mathematics, the Dutch champion must finish second in every remaining race to clinch the title by the Abu Dhabi GP. With six races left in the season, he and his team need to capitalize on every opportunity to maximize their performance.