Max Verstappen is not planning to go about the 2022 season any differently just because he is now the reigning World Champion.
Verstappen reached the Formula 1 summit for the first time in his career in 2021, clinching the title with a last-lap overtake on Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi.
It was a season which proved the ultimate test of Verstappen’s ability to deliver under pressure, but now that he was proven that he can get over the line, how does that impact his mentality moving forward?
Well, as it turns out, in no way at all.
Instead, Verstappen feels that there is no need to do anything differently in 2022, even if he is going into the season with that reigning champ status for the first time.
Asked at the launch of the Red Bull RB18, which Verstappen will drive this season, if the pressure feels greater as the 2021 champ, he said: “No, I just do what I do all the time. There is no reason to suddenly be different.”
In fact, Verstappen feels the only way that he may need to change is in relation to driving the car, since the RB18 and all nine other challengers have been designed to all-new regulations.
But after that, little else about his approach changes.
“Of course, as a driver you have to get used to the new regulations, it’s not like you just jumped in and it’s an upgrade from last year,” said the Dutchman.
“So that is going to be the biggest adaptation but the rest, it’s pretty straightforward.”
It remains to be seen whether Red Bull’s 2021 title focus will have hindered their starting point in this new era of Formula 1.
For Verstappen the feeling he has is curiosity as he itches to get out onto the track and see how the RB18 behaves.
“A lot is unknown about the car,” he said.
“Personally, I feel good. What is important is you prepare yourself in the best way possible physically.
“But in terms of the car, you don’t know, so that’s why I’m curious to see how the car behaves on track.”
Verstappen has elected to race with the number ‘1’ on his car in 2022, a champion’s choice which has not been used in Formula 1 since Sebastian Vettel back in 2014.
