Max can reach 50 career successes and admits that he is the big favourite. Lewis returns to the fine received at Losail, but anxiously awaits the test of the new Mercedes fund
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He could also no longer appear on the track for 2023 and still have the certainty of bringing home the third Drivers’ title of his F1 career. Yet, after the defeat in Singapore which put an end to a winning streak of ten consecutive races, Max Verstappen picked up exactly where he left off: with consecutive victories, dominating without rivals. “I enjoy the situation and hope that our superiority lasts as long as possible”, he said a few days ago to the Gazzetta: this is how, even in a season now mathematically closed, the Dutchman from Red Bull finds the incentive to collect even the crumbs. However, without falling into the mistake of thinking that victories are just numbers…
VERSTAPPEN 50
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However, the temptation is strong. So much so that in the press conference they point out to him that, if he were to win again, that of Austin it would be career victory number 50: “Looking at the progress of the season I think I’m the man to beat here too. But it’s the weekend of the sprint race, so we’ll have to get the perfect setup in the only free practice session and so it’s a bit early to say anything. It would be the fiftieth success, it’s a good number and I never thought I’d reach it. But, now that I’m there, I’ll have to try to expand it further. It’s certainly a good result, but the most important thing is to do well on the track without thinking about the statistics. Party after Qatar? Nothing crazy, it was just nice to come home and spend some time with friends before this triptych of races.”
MERCEDES UPDATES
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From one super champion to another, what certainly unites Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen is the hunger for victories and the hard work to get to the top of Formula 1. Despite having already won seven World Championships, the Englishman, for example, is eager to get into track to test the new surface developed by Mercedes engineers: “There has been a lot of effort in the factory and this is our last big update. I’m excited to see what’s been done and I hope this development can move the balance in our favor and push us in the right direction for next year. I don’t know what sensations it will give in all parts of the circuit, but we hope that there is an overall improvement and it can bring us closer to those in front of us. Qatar? I want to move forward learning from the past, the best thing about our sport is that there is always another race to get back in the car.”
FINE TO LOSAIL
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Hamilton finally clarified the issue of fine received at Losail for crossing the runway on foot after the accident with Russellespecially since there was talk of one this week reopening of the case by the Federation: “I immediately raised my hand saying that, in the heat of the moment, I made a wrong decision. It was important to send this message especially for young riders and for this I immediately apologized. Now I think they’re just trying to figure out how to prevent something like this from happening again, but there was a miscommunication. I think they will have to talk to those in charge of public relations, they need to do a better job.”
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