Verstappen - F1 'not a life-or-death situation'

Max Verstappen has again underlined his laidback approach to F1 by insisting it is not "a life-or-death situation".

The Red Bull driver surprised many observers ahead of the recent Turkish Grand Prix when he claimed that if he failed to win the title this year, then finishing second would not alter his life.

With a 12-point cushion over Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton going into the final five races of the season, Verstappen is as relaxed as he could possibly be about the circumstances.

“Sometimes people take F1 too seriously, like it’s a life-or-death situation, thinking ‘If I don’t make it to Formula 1, my life is over,’ or something like that,” he told The New York Times.

“For me, that was never the case and never will be. I’m very happy that I am in Formula 1 now, but even if I wasn’t, I would still do something else, racing-related stuff to have fun, to have a good time.”

Now in his seventh season in F1, the 24-year-old at least concedes he "will be disappointed" if he does not win the title this season.

But again, missing out would not break him. “I know that if my car is fast enough until the end of the season, I will win the championship," added Verstappen.

"But if it’s not, then we probably won’t win it. At the end of the day, it’s not going to change my world.

“Of course, the goal, the dream is always to win the championship, but you need to have a bit of luck, you need to have the right car for it to be at the right time of the season or across the whole season.”

Verstappen knows he has to “maximise everything every single weekend,” and he “needs to be perfect” to beat seven-time champion Hamilton.

Addressing what it would mean to him to win the title, he said: “It’s a dream from when I was a little kid together with my dad, to get to Formula 1 in the first place and then trying to fight for a title.

“For sure, it would mean a lot if we can win it.”

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