Form 1 | Verstappen: My future is with Red Bull … for the moment

After his victory at the German Grand Prix, Max Verstappen appeared as the man of the moment and it was not unlikely to see him quickly overtake Valtteri Bottas in the championship. However, since the recovery, Red Bull-Honda has appeared to be falling somewhat, while Ferrari has made a comeback, especially in Singapore.

Is this second half of the season not too frustrating for the Red Bull driver? Is not he tired of this relative stagnation within the Austrian team in 2019?

"My feeling is good, actually" he told Suzuka. "I learned a lot over the years and it helped me to be more consistent. "

"We got really good results. We maximized them and sometimes we did more than maximize them. And of course, we had some more difficult moments too. "

"The most difficult moment was Singapore. We really thought we would have a good chance of winning, but we suffered a bit. But it happens. It's the race. "

What to attribute this form of Red Bull, especially if we compare the significant evolution of Ferrari from Singapore?

"We have evolved, but maybe they have not brought enough real performance gain. And of course, Ferrari has made a lot of progress. They are just so fast in straight lines. Even developing a magic car, you could not overcome this deficit, it is so massive. "

"But I'm only three points behind Charles Leclerc in the championship. This shows that this season, I really did everything to maximize the potential of the car, without making too many mistakes. "

"But I'm not here for that. I want to win more races and fight for the championship. This year it did not happen, but we expected it with the transition to the Honda engine. But this partnership has gone very well for the moment. We did not abandon. We all want more power, everyone wants it. But we are working very hard for that. "

In recent statements, however, Max Verstappen appeared to open the door to a Red Bull departure in 2021 – implying that if the team did not progress positively next year, he could go elsewhere.

"To be honest, for now, my future is really with Red Bull" says the Dutchman, who specifies that he speaks of a situation valid at a time T.

"A lot of things can still change and there is a season we have yet to play. Even from one season to another, many things can change. "

But Max Verstappen is determined to give himself the luxury of choosing …

"After 2020, there will be many drivers arriving at the end of the contract, which is normal, since the new regulations are in the cards. And even teams are wondering what they will do. So it's the same for me. I first want to see what happens here in the future, with Honda; and for the moment, I do not really think about it, because there is nothing for everyone. "

"I would like to stay here and win the championship with Red Bull" concludes Max Verstappen. But will that even be possible next year?