The reigning Max Verstappen opens up on his need to… stealing off…
MAX VERSTAPPEN claimed a seventh race win of the season at the French Grand Prix on Sunday.
Max Verstappen has joked that Lando Norris could begin taking his race wins following an amusing social media post by the McLaren ace. Norris posted a photo alongside good friend Verstappen and quipped about their combined Formula One Grand Prix successes.
A photo of the pair was taken following Verstappen’s victory at the French Grand Prix. Norris uploaded it to Instagram with the cheeky caption: “27 race wins between us after today!”
Of course, all 27 of those race wins belong to reigning world champion Verstappen. Norris is yet to win a Grand Prix despite his six podium finishes.
The reigning Max Verstappen opens up on his need to… stealing off…
But Verstappen has joked that Norris will soon start catching up with his tally. The Dutchman has said he needs to continue winning races to prevent competition from the 22-year-old.
“I need to stock up before you start stealing them off me,” Verstappen commented on the post alongside three laughing emojis.
It comes after the Red Bull ace extended his lead at the top of the Formula One World Drivers’ Championship to a whopping 63 points after Sunday’s French GP. Verstappen benefited from Charles Leclerc’s crash and then fended off competition from Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to finish first.
He now seems destined to secure successive world titles but has insisted that there is still a long way to go in the season. He has a 63-point lead over Leclerc and is 70 points ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez.
“We’re halfway only so there are still a lot of races to go, and a lot of things can happen. I don’t really look at that lead,” Verstappen told journalists.
The reigning Max Verstappen opens up on his need to… stealing off…
“We still have a lot of work to do. We are still behind over one lap and I don’t expect Hungary to be particularly our best track, because I do think we are lacking a bit of downforce compared to Ferrari and that’s what you need around there.”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has claimed that Verstappen’s excellent start to the season was beyond his ‘wildest dreams’. He told the Dutch edition of Motosport: “If you had told me before Christmas last year that with the biggest rule change in 40 years and with the energy we put into last year’s championship we would now have eight wins, two sprint wins and leads of 63 and 82 points in the championship, it would have exceeded my wildest dreams.
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“It’s really indicative of the determination, dedication and hard work behind the scenes at the factory. We see a very competitive Ferrari this year and we see Mercedes building momentum. But when you consider we were the last team to put the focus entirely on this year, we’ve done a phenomenal job.”