Max Verstappen has no tracks to be "afraid" of on calendar

Max Verstappen wint beide races in Oostenrijk. — Photo: © LAT Images

Red Bull

Verstappen has no tracks to be "afraid" of on calendar

Verstappen took a clean sweep of victories in the recent triple-header

Ewan Gale

Saturday 10 July 2021 18:15

Max Verstappen has warned his rivals there is no track on the calendar where he is "going to be too afraid".

The Red Bull driver extended his points advantage over Lewis Hamilton to 32 points after collecting a clean sweep of race victories across F1's first triple-header of the season in France and Austria.

The victories on the faster, more traditional circuits of Paul Ricard and the Red Bull Ring were added to the wins the team picked up at the Monaco and Baku street circuits.

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When asked if there were tracks coming up that worried Verstappen, the Dutchman replied: "It is difficult to say.

"I expected to struggle a bit in France, for example, and we still got away with a pole and a win so from now onwards I am just looking forward to every single track.

"There are no guarantees but there is not a single track where I think I am going to be too afraid."

Verstappen has to "think differently" in title fight

This year marks the first time Verstappen has been able to battle for the title since his F1 debut in 2015.

Over his career to date, the championship leader has been questioned over his aggressive driving style but has seemed to add maturity to his driving in the past calendar year.

"I think it needs to be like that," explained Verstappen.

"Before, I could take more risks because I had nothing to lose and I would finish third or fourth in the championship anyway but now there is a different mindset which I knew would come if I had a competitive car and know we do.

"Naturally, you have to think different because every single weekend you have to score points or try not to lose too many points. It is very different."