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Max Verstappen is in the middle of a dominant season, but he is still trying to improve in one particular area
Max Verstappen is in the middle of what may go down as one of the most dominant seasons in Formula 1 history. The Red Bull driver currently leads the Drivers’ Championship by 125 points over teammate Sergio Pérez, and with ten races remaining his commanding lead has already officially eliminated ten drivers from title contention: Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Nico Hülkenberg, Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, Yuki Tsunoda, Kevin Magnussen, Logan Sargeant, Nyck de Vries, and Daniel Ricciardo.
In reality, the other drivers are simply battling for second, as Verstappen will likely cruise to his third-straight title, joining Jack Brabham, Sir Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna in sixth place on the all-time list.
According to this analysis from Planet F1, Verstappen could theoretically clinch that title by the Japanese Grand Prix, meaning he would have the trophy in hand with six grands prix remaining.
Furthermore, Verstappen is closing in on Sebastian Vettel’s mark of nine-straight victories, set during the 2013 season. With a win in this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, Verstappen would tie that mark, and given his dominance to date, it is hard to bet against him.
All of this is a way of saying that Verstappen is the dominant force in the sport at the moment.
But he is still looking to improve.
Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner told the media recently that Verstappen has been looking to improve one area of his form: The start.
“It’s always fine margins, I think we’ve had some variable starts this year,” said Horner recently. “He’s [Verstappen] been putting a lot of focus working with the engineers on that working with the guys at Red Bull Powertrains and Honda.”
Verstappen has gotten off to some poor starts this season, including at the British Grand Prix where he lost the early lead to Lando Norris. As you know, Verstappen quickly found his way back to the front to take the victory at Silverstone. Still, it remains an area of focus for the Red Bull driver.
“I had a bad start, a lot of wheelspin, so I had to work my way up again to Lando,” Verstappen said following the British Grand Prix. “It took a few laps, then also took a few laps to cool down the tyres again in the lead, because Lando came back at me again with DRS. As soon as that [wheelspin] happens, of course you lose so much drive all the way to Turn 1. When Lando was in front I just tried to stay out of trouble in Turns 3 and 4. Then I had a little battle with Oscar into Copse, and I had to stay on the outside. But it all worked out.”
It certainly has worked out for Verstappen this season, more times often than not.
But it seems the two-time champion still can find room for improvement.
