Verstappen keeping busy with 'other things', not title bid

Max Verstappen says he's fending off thoughts about winning the F1 title by keeping himself busy with his race preparations for this weekend's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and "other things".

The Red Bull driver heads into the weekend with an eight-point lead over Lewis Hamilton, and the Dutchman could theoretically snatch the title at the penultimate round in Jeddah if he outscores his rival by 18 points.

But Verstappen isn't weighing his chances by looking at the points or reading the press.

"I've always been very neutral, not reading too many positive or negative things," he said on Thursday.

"In general, [I try] not to read too many things and be busy with other things I like.

"I come to the weekend and I focus on F1. I do my things off-track, like preparing on the simulator, but then I'm also busy with other stuff so I think that helps a lot."

For the 24-year-old, it's therefore business as usual this weekend, come what may.

"Like I've done the whole season, there's no change in that," he said.

"It's a new track so, first of all, we need to learn the track and see how to tackle it in FP1. For the rest, I just focus on the weekend to try and be as competitive as I can be."

• Read also: Red Bull 'working at full speed' ahead of final showdown

Despite Hamilton's small deficit in the Drivers' standings, Mercedes unquestionably has the wind in its back ahead of this weekend's round of racing, with the Briton dominating the last two races.

But in the opposite camp, Red Bull has done its home work although Verstappen isn't making any early predictions about his team's level of performance at F1's new venue.

"We're very motivated, and a track like this creates different and new opportunities for everyone, not only us," he said.

"Hopefully, it's going to be an exciting weekend. I hope that we're going to be competitive, but it's a bit too early to say at the moment.

"On the simulator, it's a very, very fast track. Looking forward to seeing it in real life."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter