Max Verstappen was one race short of registering the perfect season, featuring on the podium a staggering 21 times in 2023. Not only did the Singapore Grand Prix put a halt to the Dutchman’s record of winning ten consecutive Grands Prix, but it also ascertained the fact that Verstappen would not feature on the podium in all the races of the season, replicating the feat of Michael Schumacher from 2002.
Max Verstappen’s and Red Bull’s record-breaking winning runs have come to an end in Singapore ❌#F1 #SingaporeGPhttps://t.co/KFSyiu0uiU
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 17, 2023
Speaking to the Swiss website Blick, the Dutchman pointed out that despite losing the Singapore GP, another incident led to him having an imperfect season for him.
“This year I only made a big mistake. I drove into the pit wall in Silverstone. That’s rather embarrassing. But not everything went perfectly in Singapore either.”, said Verstappen.
The interviewer also asked whether Verstappen was confident in himself for conjuring up the perfect lap on the slopes. In answering the question, the three-time world champion honestly claimed, “I don’t think so. It’s still better. Sometimes you’re just less away from perfection than usual.”
Max Verstappen- The man forever chasing perfection
Growing up in the parenting style of Jos Verstappen, the three-time world champion learned the only form of true success was perfection. As such, the Red Bull driver is often too hard on himself, even for the smallest of mistakes. Verstappen even claimed to not only demand perfection from himself but also from those around him in an interview with F1 in August.
“He was so dominant this year, I am very proud of that!”
Jos Verstappen reacts to his son Max Verstappen winning his 3rd consecutive F1 World Championship pic.twitter.com/mfA9yGGGD5
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 7, 2023
However, the Dutchman understands that there will often be variations in the proximity to perfection, with each weekend being different from another. “Some weekends probably it’s close to everything [being perfect], then some other weekends, it feels like maybe not everything.”
As such, Verstappen claims the variation to be the beauty of the sport as he can easily point out where he was good and where he can still improve. The statements by the 26-year-old further detail the self-reflective nature of Verstappen, and how his parents instilled a sense of achieving nothing but excellence in him.
