Verstappen anticipates a challenging year at Mercedes for Hamilton
Announcing that the Briton would be in a “weird” scenario to the media on Thursday at the unveiling of Red Bull’s new car, the 26-year-old Dutchman is aiming for his fourth consecutive title this season.
“To announce something that big that early in the season, I think for sure for the rest of the year, is a little bit awkward,” he explained. “Even though you have had a lot of success together as a team, you can’t be included in everything any more,” Verstappen added.
“For sure, he has a great relationship with everyone, especially with (team boss) Toto (Wolff), but he also knows that at one point, Toto for sure will tell him, ‘I’m really sorry, we’ve had all this success, but you can’t be part of certain meetings any more’,” Verstappen explained. “In Formula One, that is typical. Most likely, it’s a little strange. Nevertheless, you are capable of handling that with professionalism.
In addition to having a tight bond with Austrian driver Wolff and other key staff members, Hamilton has won six of his championships with Mercedes.Upon its announcement this month, the 39-year-old shocked the racing community by joining Ferrari on a multi-year contract to replace Carlos Sainz alongside Charles Leclerc.
Now that Hamilton is not present for meetings, teammate George Russell will serve as Mercedes’ continuity representative. Mercedes, according to Verstappen, would continue to make every effort on behalf of Hamilton.
There comes a time when sharing certain things becomes impossible. They will, of course, go above and beyond for him once he’s in the car,” he added. “If the car is quick enough, yeah,” Verstappen said when asked if he was enthusiastic about the possibility of competing against Hamilton’s Ferrari. You’re not aware. From our end as well.”
Though his goal was to win races, Verstappen expressed his respect for the Italian team. “At the moment, I am very happy where I’m at, so I don’t see myself leaving at the moment.” With the exception of Singapore, where Sainz prevailed, Red Bull won every race last season, culminating in Verstappen’s record-tying 19 victories out of 22.
The crew was pleased with their performance, and the new car was unquestionably superior, but it was unclear how much the competition had advanced. In response to a question about whether he might be able to win every race in 2024, Verstappen stated he would take it race by race .”Maybe one day it’s possible, I don’t know,” he stated. “It’s really difficult to know how quick we are going to be.”
Additionally, Verstappen stated that there had been no diversion from a corporate investigation into the actions of principal Christian Horner and that he had “no clue” who might be Red Bull’s biggest threat.
As for Horner, he doesn’t give the probe any thought. “I’m confident that things are going as usual for me; I refute the accusations.” The 50-year-old told reporters, “If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”
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