Ex-F1 champion claims Max Verstappen struggling with ‘discipline and commitment’ to win in 2024
Mika Hakkinen claims Max Verstappen needs to fix his discipline to start winning races again.
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Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)
Max Verstappen’s fourth F1 title is in danger as Red Bull has continued to show the sign they’re not the fastest team anymore. The Austrian team was only fourth fastest on the grid at the Italian GP with Max Verstappen finishing in 5th place. Two-time F1 champion Mika Hakkinen believes that Verstappen needs personal commitment and discipline to win races.
Mika Hakkinen highlighted that achieving success in Formula 1 requires the combination of certain factors. This includes a strong team, reliable and a fast car and the driver’s personal commitment and discipline. If any of this is absent then even talented drivers like Max Verstappen faces difficulties. Hakkinen thought Verstappen’s struggles were due to the team or car issues, or he might need to adjust his approach to win races as they’re moving backward with each passing race.
For success, you need a team, you need a car, and you need personal commitment and discipline to be able to win races. So far, Max has been struggling this year.Mika Hakkinen told Unibet.co.uk
Hakkinen pointed out that although Verstappen started the year with dominance and some victories, he felt that maintaining that level of success might be difficult. The 55-year-old believed that this year’s competition would be different from previous years when Red Bull dominated. Others have analyzed Max Verstappen and Red Bull, becoming more competitive and presenting greater challenges for them.
Of course, everything looked pretty good at the start of the year, getting some victories, but in my opinion, it was obvious this journey for success could not continue.Mika Hakkinen added.
Mika Hakkinen believes conflicts within the team a reason for Red Bull’s downfall
Mika Hakkinen believed that Red Bull’s dominance couldn’t continue due to internal team politics, conflicts, and insufficient support from teammates. Earlier this season, Christian Horner was accused of inappropriate behavior towards a female employee. All These problems have hindered the team’s progress and negatively impacted Max Verstappen’s performance. The 55-year-old reckoned, this made it difficult for the Dutchman to achieve the same level of success as before.
It could not continue because simply…would I say, politics or conflicts inside the team, help from the team-mate. All these things have not been able to move the team positively forward, and that's influencing Max's performance.Max Verstappen stated.
Therefore, Hakkinen claims the conflicts and people leaving from the team have massively impacted Verstappen’s performance. Red Bull needs to fix their RB20 as soon as possible to save their lead from getting snatched from McLaren in the Constructors standings.
In case you missed it:
- “I don’t flirt outside,” Toto Wolff gives clear verdict over not signing Max Verstappen for Mercedes
- Carlos Sainz insists Ferrari can ‘fight for the constructors’ against mighty McLaren
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Gaurang Kadam
(535 Articles Published)