Verstappen: 'I've achieved more than I could ever dream of'

Max Verstappen is only 25, but the Dutchman says he's already achieved in his life more than he could ever dream of, insisting he isn't focused on winning a third world title in 2023.

And yet the Red Bull charger is certainly the favourite to take top honours after his and his team's dominant campaign last year.

A third crown would place Verstappen alongside the likes of Ayrton Senna and Niki Lauda – fellow three-time winners of the F1 world championship – in the sport's history books.

But the 35-time Grand Prix winner isn't fixated on the stats or on where he may end up at the end of his career in F1's pantheon of drivers.

"I think I already achieved more than I could ever dream of, so for me I always just try to get the best out of myself," Verstappen said.

"I don’t really think about where I am between all of the all-time greats in terms of championships or wins. I just want to do my job.

"I of course know I have a contract through 2028, so I want to try and win more with this team — more races and potentially championships.

"But I’ve never really been a guy that likes statistics or whatever.

"I always want to come out of a race weekend and tell myself that I gave it all and that I really extracted everything out of myself, because then I’m happy.

"Then also once you stop racing, if I can look back at my years in Formula 1 and say, ‘Did I really get everything out of it?’ and if I did and I can say ‘Yes’ to myself, then I’m happy."

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Come rain or shine on race day, Verstappen accepts whatever fate decides as, once again, it's about performing to the best of his ability while knowing that you can't win them all, especially in F1.

"You definitely lose more than you win! So it will be hard to catch up on that," he added.

"But you just have to accept it. You know that Formula 1 is like that — normally there are only one or two teams a year that you can win races with and we know the sport has been like that.

"So the mentality has always been there.

"(When) I came into Formula 1, I was in the midfield and at the back of the grid; you deal with that because it’s all in your learning process for potentially moving up to a winning team, which luckily I could do.

"And then once you’re in that position you have to show that you learned in the midfield, all the experience gained and that you can put it on the table and win those races."

Red Bull enjoyed a comfortable edge last season over its rivals. Only time will tell if the Milton Keynes-based squad's new RB19 will protect its advantage.

But the team's star driver isn't losing any sleep over his prospects or those of his Ferrari and Mercedes adversaries.

"Not worried because we have to focus on our own job," he said. "We have to try and improve our car.

"We know that there are always things we can do better — the same from my side — and that’s the only thing we can control, so that’s what we focus on.

"At the moment it’s difficult to tell (who the biggest threat is). Looking at the last race it was definitely Ferrari still the closest but a lot of things can change, so we’ll see."

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