Engineer admits Mercedes could keep bored Verstappen from quitting Formula 1

Austrian GP: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, Sprint Press Conference — Photo: © LAT Images

Engineer admits Mercedes could keep bored Verstappen from quitting Formula 1

Former performance engineer believes Max could relish the challenge of Mercedes switch

Michael Clarke

Friday 25 August 2023 07:57 Updated: 11:02

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Max Verstappen could be tempted by a switch to Mercedes to reignite his motivation for Formula 1 after driving in ‘easy mode’ all season, according to his old performance engineer.

Former Red Bull staffer Blake Hinsley has warned the rest of the field that Verstappen is now driving with only perfection in mind and could be getting bored of just winning as he approaches the rest of the season with a substantial lead over his rivals.

“What else does Max need to strive for apart from absolute perfection, 10 out of 10 every weekend,” Hinsley told the Sky Sports F1 podcast.

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“Max’s goal now is to pole, race wins, fastest lap, lead as many laps as possible, when that becomes very likely to happen what do you have to do (to keep motivation).”

Hinsley was the 25-year-old Dutch driver’s performance engineer until the end of the 2017 season. Going into this weekend’s Formula 1 return from the summer break, the Red Bull Racing driver gets a chance to equal the most GP wins in a row with a ninth straight win this season.

New challenges

Despite running away with the season with a near-perfect start to the campaign, the two-time world champion has made comments that have put his future in the sport in doubt as his motivation dampens for the coming races.

“Let’s say you are driving a Mercedes right now, the car is not great and it is a way off winning the championship right now. Which one of those has more hooks (for Max) to keep you invested,” Hinsley added.

“Maybe a couple of years in a slower car and lots of challenges would reignite some that.”