Max Verstappen has reaffirmed his commitment to Red Bull despite current results.
In recent months, the topic of the Dutchman’s future has been debated with Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko suggesting a future move to Mercedes, while his father Jos ‘liked’ an article claiming Max could leave.
And on Thursday ahead of the team’s home race in Austria, he as reminded of a fairly dull results record this season, including five fourth place finishes.
“Great,” he replied jokingly. “But I wouldn’t call it frustrating. It’s not like I’m miles off, whether it’s a Mercedes or Ferrari I am not that far away.
“We just need to keep pushing hard to get more performance out of the car and the engine.
“We are clearly lacking on both sides but I try to make the best out of it.”
The 21-year-old did admit some dissatisfaction at not being able to achieve much better, however.
“I’m not here to be fourth and it’s not nice to just keep driving around in this spot, always missing out,” he stated. “It’s just how it is at the moment.”
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That being said, Verstappen is also prepared to be patient with Red Bull and their partnership with Honda.
“To be honest, I think it’s just important to see what the team bring in the upcoming races,” he continued.
“I’m not too worried about what’s going to happen next year or even beyond that. At the moment, I just want to focus on this project because I still think there is a lot of potential and we’re just getting started.
“But, like I said, of course, I don’t want to keep driving until I’m 35 just for fourth, so we’ll see.”