Abu Dhabi, Nov 27: After winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to cap up his championship-winning campaign, three-time world champion Max Verstappen admits it will be difficult for Red Bull to repeat their “incredible” 2023 campaign.
After being pushed by Charles Leclerc in the early laps, Verstappen managed to gain an advantage over the rest of the field and secure his fourth consecutive victory in Abu Dhabi.
Verstappen broke multiple records this year, including winning 19 races, being on the podium 21 times, and becoming the first driver to lead more than 1000 laps in a season.
In addition, he recorded the greatest winning margin in a championship – 290 points ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez, who finished in second place – and the highest point total in history (575).
“An incredible season. It was a bit emotional on the in lap. The last time I was sitting in the car that has of course given me a lot. Of course, very proud to win here, also at the last race,” Verstappen was quoted as saying by Formula 1.
“But I have to say a big thank you to Red Bull, it’s just been an incredible year. It will be hard to do something similar again, but we definitely enjoyed this year,” he added.
Asked whether he and Red Bull can enhance their performance on this year, Verstappen said, “Yeah, will be very hard to have another season like this, we know. Of course, you always want to do better but sometimes doing better is not only race wins and potentially winning the championship.
“But we will see. We are working hard for next year to have again a very competitive car. For sure all the other teams want to try and beat us out there. We are ready for the battle but for the meantime as well we are going to enjoy a little bit this year as well,” he added.
Verstappen thanked the Abu Dhabi crowed for cheering for the drivers and said, “Yeah, it’s been incredible. Sold out in basically every race we went to. Great fans support and also I hope you guys enjoyed the race today and you saw all your favourite drivers do well. And of course, thank you very much for cheering us on.” (ANI)
