Verstappen admits F1 rival boasts 'beautiful' feature that Red Bull cannot offer

Max Verstappen has praised a rival F1 team for a unique feature that Red Bull cannot offer him.

The Dutchman has achieved all three of his world titles with Red Bull, alongside 59 race wins and 39 pole positions.

READ MORE: Verstappen under FIA investigation amid Monaco frustrations

Verstappen’s maiden race victory came at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2016, in his inaugural outing with the Austrian outfit.

Since then he has become the nucleus of the Red Bull team, steering them towards championship success in 2021 and dominating the sport ever since.

Will Verstappen ever leave Red Bull?

2024 has been difficult internally at the team, with boss Christian Horner embroiled in controversy, and their chief technical officer Adrian Newey announcing his departure.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has taken advantage of this unrest, publicly courting Verstappen to replace Lewis Hamilton at the team.

Reports suggest Mercedes have offered the Dutch champion a lucrative deal to try and lure him over, however Verstappen has expressed his loyalty to his current team.

Red Bull have not been bulletproof this season, however, beaten by Ferrari and McLaren on more than one occasion.

Following a DNF at the Australian Grand Prix for Verstappen, the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz capitalised on his failure, and stormed to victory.

Lando Norris also beat Verstappen on merit at the Miami Grand Prix, and came close to emulating this feat in Imola.

READ MORE: Verstappen toils as Hamilton bounces BACK in Monaco

Recently, Charles Leclerc achieved pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix, with Verstappen only managing to set the sixth fastest time.

The Dutch driver has been complimentary of the Scuderia, and praised them for an attractive feature that he enjoys, even on his worst days in Formula 1.

“When I’m not winning, I happily listen to the Italian national anthem on the podium,” Verstappen said.

“On the podium, it’s not nice to not win, but when you’re not winning, and you hear the Italian national anthem, it’s a beautiful one.”

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