Max Verstappen says he would never admit to having a weakness and doesn't understand those who do.
With Red Bull failing to hit the high expectations they made pre-season of challenging Mercedes for the championship, the Dutchman was asked back in Belgium whether another year of being close but not close enough was impacting his motivation?
His response was a strong negative, calling any such suggestion "stupid" and insisted "I love what I'm doing".
However, following a difficult weekend at Monza, and as sort of a follow-up to that question back at Spa, Verstappen claimed it would be wrong to give his rivals any kind of opening by revealing any insecurities.
"No, absolutely not," he said. "Even if you have one, I would never say so.
"Also, weaknesses, why would you say you’re weak even if you have one, why would you explain that? So no, I would never say those kinds of things."
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Then attention turned to this weekend at Mugello, where the 22-year-old is expecting a more competitive outing on a circuit better-suited to his Red Bull.
"I definitely think it can't be any worse than Monza," he said. "It will be better, and I think we should be back in a decent place behind Mercedes.
"It's a new track of course, so we first have to see how the car is set up and for sure we'll have to make a few changes to that. But overall I'm quite confident that we can have a positive weekend."
In the build-up, Verstappen also confirmed he got some early practice and experience at the Tuscan circuit in a GT car.
“I came here a few weeks ago to drive because I have not been here before,” he said.
“I think that is the best way to learn a track. I mean you can drive it on the simulator, but I haven’t done that.
“Of course, the car is a bit slower but it’s still fun. Yeah, that is important, it gives you a little bit of a head start.”
