Max Verstappen Only Knows One Way: Winning

Max Verstappen has once again demonstrated that his mentality does not fit with that of the majority. At a moment in which the fight for the Formula 1 runner-up spot is tighter than ever, with George Russell just six points behind and Lewis Hamilton five, the Dutchman was blunt: he doesn't care: "I don't really care because only first counts, for me, I don't care if I am second or fifth, the only thing we want to try to achieve is to be third in the Constructors. That is what I think the team wants so that is what we will try to do" Verstappen declared in the preview of the Mexico Grand Prix.

The phrase perfectly summarizes the philosophy of a driver who has built his career on the basis of excellence and who does not conceive any other objective than victory, for Verstappen, finishing second in the drivers' championship is not a prize, but a reminder that he has not been the best, a mentality that far from being arrogant, reflects a fierce competitiveness and an obsession with constant improvement.

That obsession translates above all into his focus towards 2027. Verstappen has made clear that his priority is not to fight for intermediate positions in the last races of 2026, but to ensure that Red Bull is competitive again next season: "There are still many things we want to change and I hope that makes the car a little more cohesive. That has been the objective for a long time, of course we have improved a lot this year but I think we are nowhere near satisfied enough so there will still be a decent amount of changes for next year" the Dutchman explained.

The recent victories in Malaysia and Singapore have demonstrated that Red Bull should never be ruled out, however Verstappen is aware that the RB22 still has weaknesses that must be corrected if they want to fight for the title again: "There were some small problems we found, with which of course we were dealing throughout the weekend so it is more about trying to learn from them, try to solve them and try to have a slightly simpler race" he noted.

For Verstappen the key is in the details: "I had a bit of damage on my car, some other things were not where we wanted them to be and from the engine side, it was not where we wanted it to operate and perform, also in terms of power, so many small things that contribute to losing lap time. If you fix that naturally you gain pace, we know that if the car and the engine are in better shape, you should go faster" he added.

Verstappen's mentality is a reminder that in Formula 1 the difference between the great champions and the good drivers is in the ability to maintain hunger and ambition even in difficult moments, the Dutchman does not settle for the runner-up spot, does not settle for podiums, does not settle for anything other than victory and that obsession is, precisely, what has made him one of the best drivers in history.

While others fight for positions, Verstappen fights for perfection...