Jos Verstappen after dominant 2023: 'Would like more competition'

13 December 2023 at 07:59

Corwin Kunst

Max Verstappen delivered a season that will go down in the history books. The three-time world champion won 19 times this season. Jos Verstappen is thoroughly enjoying the success, although he must honestly admit that a little more competition would make it more fun.

Red Bull vs McLaren

In fact, Red Bull won 21 of 22 races this year, making the Austrian racing team comparatively even better than McLaren's memorable 1998 season.

"I think the cars [today] have more level. I mean, if you see the McLaren that won 15 out of 16 races when [Ayrton] Senna was driving, I think they were one second faster than everyone else at that time," Jos Verstappen said in an interview with PlanetF1.com.

"Now of course we are fast, but Ferrari, maybe sometimes McLaren, are there too," Verstappen sr. continued his story. "I think to achieve what he does, he [Max] has to be focused at that level - because everything is about details to make it happen - every time." Among the Verstappens, there is a lot of confidence in 2024. Things seem to be moving in the right direction with the RB20. "He has confidence in the team and what they are coming up with," said Verstappen.

Will Verstappen have to work harder for it?

Matching this season is virtually impossible, Max and team boss Christian Horner have said several times. What would Jos want? "I would want more competition. Of course we want to win the races, but I would also like him to fight and then come away with the victory, or maybe not. I think everyone wants to see that."

Winning a title in 2021 is also nice, if it is not decided until the very last day. "I am a fan of the sport, I am a fan of Formula 1. Of course it's nice to win. Of course it's nice to win 18 or 19 races in the season. But to win the championship like he did in 2021, I enjoyed that too anyway, so.... why not?" concludes Max Verstappen's father.