Max Verstappen recalls the Sebastian Vettel text message amid the chance of him to equal his nin consecutive F1 win records.
Should Red Bull’s Verstappen win the Dutch GP at Zandvoort, the Dutchman will equal the most consecutive win record held by Vettel of nine races. The German did so back in 2013, while the former is amid that and close to equal it and or beat it even.
Drivers have come as close as seven races to equal or beat Vettel when Nico Rosberg did so between 2015 and 2016. But only Verstappen has a real chance which even the German knows. Even though the Dutchman is not after records but he is breaking many.
Post qualifying, Verstappen revealed of receiving a text message from Vettel which hinted on the possibility of the Dutchman eventually breaking his record. “I think after like five wins in a row or something like that, Seb texted me, you know ‘well done, what you’re doing at the moment, keep it up’ and something like ‘you’re going to do it’,” he said.
“But you know, I was like, ‘that’s nine wins in a row, it’s something very impressive’ and I never thought I will be able to be already on eight. I mean, if it’s possible of course I’ll go for it, but it’s not something I have in the back of my head, constantly like ‘I need to do this, I need to do this’. I’m not in this sport to try and break records. I’m just here to win in the moment,” summed up Verstappen.
The consecutive win record is one of the records that Verstappen and or Red Bull are amidst to either equal or set a new one. His rivals have full praise for the Dutchman and the team too to be in the position to do so where they wish to be as well.
There is domination but onus is on the rivals to break the shackles. “I’ll say no, just because there’s been times when we’ve been very close, you know?,” said McLaren’s Lando Norris when asked about the dominance and if he us unbeatable. “Yeah, there’s been plenty of times it’s been super, super close, whether Max has made a mistake and therefore it’s close or not, but there’s two differences, whether it’s Qualifying or the race.
“I think in the race, at the minute, we’ve kind of got no chance unless someone gets unlucky or he gets unlucky and something happens. Just got a very good driver in a good car and he’s doing the job he needs to do. So I think full respect to that. But I wouldn’t say no, because there’s always a chance, like on a day like today when he can make a mistake. Sadly, he doesn’t, but it can happen.
“It happens to everyone and it can still happen to him. So there’s a time and a place and we’re kind of still waiting, everyone’s waiting for it to happen, but just not today,” summed up Norris as Mercedes’ George Russell concurred with his fellow mate. “Yeah, same as Lando, definitely,” he said. “I think Max and Red Bull are doing an amazing job at the moment.
“But I think we just need to turn up a little bit more, apply a little bit more pressure. I think they’ve got a really nice buffer at the moment. And when you’re in that rhythm, you’re in that groove, you can afford to make a small mistake and still be in a really great spot. There’s a lot less pressure than when you know if you make a small mistake, it’s going to cost you a couple of positions.
“So we’re going to keep on working. You know, for sure, they’re the guys to beat at the moment. But we just need to focus on ourselves. Keep looking in the mirror, and just seeing where we can improve. And we’ll get there. We’ll get there,” summed up Russell.
Here’s what was said on Friday of F1 Dutch GP