Max Verstappen has won 10 races out of 12 rounds this season. With so many wins so early in the 2023 F1 season, many began to speculate if the Red Bull star is bored of winning races, to which the Dutchman said no, for obvious reasons. And now, according to Formula1rd, Mika Hakkinen, who dominated the sport 25 years ago, believes in the defending champion’s words.
Hakkinen dominated the 1998 F1 season with McLaren. He claimed eight wins that year in 16 rounds and, as a result, clinched the world championship that year. With that, he also defended his crown in 1999.
YES BOYS! 💪
Another amazing achievement for the team @redbullracing 🏆 Thank you to everyone for your continuous hard work 👊 Today was a perfect day 🙌
Thank you Hungary for your support all weekend 🇭🇺#HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/oTLVK3b4Ev
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) July 23, 2023
The Finnish former driver, a two-time world champion, can understand another dominant two-time world champion. With that, it is feasible to say that he understands and believes in the Red Bull driver’s words very well.
Hakkinen believes Verstappen is enjoying the dominance
Hakkinen, the Finnish former champion, believes that Verstappen is experiencing ultimate satisfaction by winning race after race, and it is never boring for him despite making F1 a stale season.
The former McLaren driver also compared the Dutchman’s stint with his time at the Woking-based team. He said, “I’m sure Max experiences the same feelings: he doesn’t get bored, and he doesn’t think racing is boring.”
11 wins in a row for the team, what an amazing achievement @redbullracing 🚀 This is an extraordinary job by everyone 👏 #KeepPushing
Thank you Silverstone 🇬🇧 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/JvY7dR54ij
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) July 9, 2023
While he thinks the 25-year-old is certainly not bored, but also at the same time, Hakkinen dropped a sigh of relief for the rivals—a ray of hope that will elate the fans from the opposition.
Hakkinen predicts Red Bull and Verstappen’s downfall
Amid the talks about dominance, Hakkinen has also opened up about Red Bull and Verstappen losing their position in the future. The Finnish star believes that the Austrian team and their driver will face what Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes have faced.
“Will it [the dominance] last forever? No, because history repeats itself. There will be changes, I don’t know when, but things will change,” remarked the two-time world champion.
He said this as he doesn’t know when, but surely, the Milton-Keynes-based team will go down sometime in the future. Nevertheless, Mika Hakkinen finds Max Verstappen and his team Red Bull a true winner for everything they have achieved together.