Max Verstappen not ‘mentally preparing’ himself in title fight against Lando Norris

Max Verstappen claimed that he wasn't mentally preparing for the world championship fight against Lando Norris.

Max Verstappen not ‘mentally preparing’ himself in title fight against Lando Norris

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris (via IMAGO)

Max Verstappen has been caught in the massive whirlwind of Red Bull’s performance struggle in the 2024 season. The Dutchman has failed to emerge victorious in a majority of the races in the mid-season. As a result, Verstappen is also quickly losing his lead to Lando Norris in the championship standings. Regardless, the 26-year-old is optimistic over his victory chances and stated his thoughts.

Max Verstappen was believed to showcase a similar performance to the 2023 season. However, Verstappen could only amass six race wins as the competition continued to build up. The Dutchman revealed that he wasn’t ‘mentally preparing’ for the championship fight with Norris. Instead, the 26-year-old was focused on making the car faster and better down the season.

YouTube video
It's not like I'm mentally preparing for it, I just want to make the car faster and better balance.
Max Verstappenl via formula1.com.

As a result, Max Verstappen claimed that Red Bull could return back to their dominant ways if he could manage to achieve this with the team. Hence, Verstappen noted that this was the ‘only thing’ he could do from his side. There was ‘no secret’ on the fact that the 26-year-old had peaked his attempts in trying to score the best results possible with a mediocre chassis.

If I manage to do that with the team, then I know that we can be very competitive again, and that's the only thing that I can do. There's no secret to that.
Max Verstappen added.

Red Bull needs to ‘find a bit more performance’ amidst the woeful 2024 season performances

Red Bull has continued to implement upgrades on the chassis in hopes of improving performance. However, none of the upgrades so far have provided substantial improvement. Hence, Max Verstappen highlighted that the team needed ‘just a bit more performance’ to make the ‘lives easier’ for the people involved.

Adrian Newey and Max Verstappen
Adrian Newey and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)
We just need to find a bit more performance and just make our lives a bit easier.
Max Verstappen noted.

Red Bull has already lost the Constructors’ championship lead amidst McLaren’s improving pace. Max Verstappen has still held onto the championship lead amidst Lando Norris’ extremely positive performances. Hence, the Dutchman must work extremely hard on his pace in order to achieve the championship victory for the fourth time in a row.