Room for personal improvements despite "simply lovely" year - Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen

Room for personal improvements despite "simply lovely" year - Verstappen

Verstappen won twice and challenged Bottas for second in 2020 standings

Ewan Gale

Wednesday 27 January 2021 09:29

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Red Bull driver Max Verstappen says there are still improvements to be made to his driving despite what he has described as a "simply lovely" 2020 campaign.

Verstappen was the only bona fide challenger to Mercedes throughout last season, running Valtteri Bottas close for second in the drivers' championship despite the German manufacturer's supposed dominance.

But despite being unable to challenge Lewis Hamilton for the title, Verstappen can take positives from the progress he made ahead of the new season.

"Overall, [it was] simply lovely, but it can always be a bit better," said the 23-year-old.

"I think I am the most critical towards myself all the time. I think you shouldn't look at race wins or amount of podiums because that depends on your car.

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"But I think compared to the year before and the years before that, I think I did improve a bit just in terms of consistency which is good so I am happy about that.

"Of course, we want to fight for the title as a team so we will try to work on that. That is also for chassis and the engine side so hopefully, next year we will be a little more competitive so we can give Mercedes a harder time."

Verstappen took two victories in 2020, including the imperious performance in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

But in the quest to bridge the overall gap to Mercedes, the Dutchman has insisted that no single area of the team's challenge must be overlooked.

"The engine is never good enough like the chassis is never good enough, like your driving is never good enough," he explained.

"You always have to improve every single year, every single race weekend, you want to try and improve and that's what we have to do in every single area because nothing is perfect."