Verstappen sets stunning target to secure third world title as Red Bull dominate

F1 season preview as Max Verstappen looks to defend world title

Max Verstappen has set a new target for 2023 as he bids to secure his third world title in successive seasons. The Dutchman wants to pick up at least seven points per event on his nearest rivals despite already sitting in a comfortable position at the top of the standings.

The reigning champion enjoys a 39 point advantage over Sergio Perez after the Mexican crashed out in qualifying in Monaco. He also sits 51 points ahead of nearest non-Red Bull challenger Fernando Alonso.

However, despite already picking up four wins this season, Verstappen feels his position does not change his mindset. He explained: “From my point of view, it doesn’t really change anything.

“I know it’s a very long championship, you need to be very consistent, you can barely afford mistakes, especially when it’s one team, one opponent, really. At the moment, it looks like best case you win, worst case you’re second, so you can’t really lose too many points like that.

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“From my side, [I’ll] keep grinding every single weekend. It’s pretty similar, it doesn’t really change anything for me. It’s not like I came out of Monaco relieved or whatever. I’m planning to gain seven points every single weekend.”

If he achieves his target, Verstappen will finish the season a staggering 151 points ahead of his nearest rival. The Dutchman would also wrap up the championship well before the final race of the season, putting the pressure off Red Bull at the end of the campaign.

After Bahrain, Mercedes’ George Russell predicted Red Bull could win every race in the 2023 season due to their dominance. The Milton Keynes based squad is definitely over-achieving, securing victories at tracks where they were not expecting to dominate such as Monaco.

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Verstappen refused to rule out Red Bull winning all of the 16 remaining races left this season. But, he stressed it would be an improbable task with so many factors still to consider.

No team has ever won every Grand Prix meaning Red Bull would enter the history books if they could achieve it. Verstappen added: “How it looks like at the moment, I think we can, but that’s very unlikely to happen. There are always things that go wrong, you have a retirement or whatever.

“Purely on pace, I think at the moment it looks like… But we’ll always get to tracks where maybe it doesn’t work out exactly, or whatever, bad luck in qualifying, you make your own mistakes.”

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