In 2023, Max Verstappen broke his record of winning 15 races in a calendar year. With 19 wins, the Red Bull driver took his tally to a whopping 54 GP wins. Now, Ralf Schumacher believes that Adrian Newey needs to take care of Verstappen if Red Bull wants to see him beat Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton and take the topmost position in terms of championships.
Speaking about this, Schumacher said as per GP Blog, “In terms of age and talent, [it is] definitely possible. One question is: does he want to keep driving for so long? And the other: does he always have such a good car? I think that will be the case next year. Adrian Newey has to take good care of him [Max Verstappen] to keep it up [having a good car].”
19 wins out of 22 races pic.twitter.com/a3Dsti7vMy
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) November 26, 2023
The Dutchman took 34 wins following the introduction of new regulations in 2022. Going by this trajectory of how dominant Red Bull is and how Mercedes needs to cope up, Verstappen can close the gap to Schumacher and Hamilton real soon. Verstappen has a contract with Red Bull till 2028. Therefore, the 26-year-old will need maximum help from Newey.
Furthermore, the Red Bull driver requires a lot of motivation in order to sustain this level of dominance. However, Verstappen’s comments suggest that he may not remain in the sport for as long as Hamilton.
How does Max Verstappen need to have the motivation that Lewis Hamilton has?
The 2023 F1 season has been the 16th season in the sport for Lewis Hamilton. He has been fighting at the top for most of these seasons, and if Mercedes can come up with a championship-worthy car, chances are Hamilton will be right back at the top, yet again.
On the other hand, Verstappen completed his eighth F1 season this year. However, he does not look determined to carry on for long and chase the highest GP wins or seven world championships.
This is the perfect way to end our extraordinary season I’m extremely grateful for all of the hard work that’s gone into this year by each and everyone of you involved @redbullracing & @HondaRacingGLB To win 19 races in a season is just incredible It’s a privilege to be… pic.twitter.com/vOkhVPyD0k
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) November 26, 2023
Even though the Red Bull driver is hungry for wins, he is also determined to conclude his career in the near future, anytime around the 2028 F1 season or so. Admittedly, the time when new regulations arrive and Red Bull fails to nail them.
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how Red Bull and Max Verstappen go on dominating the next two years in F1 and start afresh in 2026 with new F1 regulations because a lot will depend on that.
