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Verstappen's sharp response to Sky's Croft: 'I don't think about that!'
Max Verstappen has explained to Sky Sports' David Croft that he is yet to think about defending his world title in 2025. The Dutchman will face a tough battle to defend his world title this season, as McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes are on his tail. For the first time since 2021, Red Bull Racing doesn’t seem to be the favourite to take the title. Ahead of the Australian Grand Prix race weekend in Melbourne, Croft asked Verstappen about his plans for defending his championship in the press conference.
How will Verstappen defend his world title?
Asked by Sky Sports' lead commentator David Croft about what it takes to successfully defend a title, Verstappen replied: "Yeah, there's a lot of things that you make me think about that I actually don't think about. So it's actually way more relaxing to just go into it, trust the people around you, and go from there. You know, work hard on and off track, try to address things that you don't like in a car or whatever, and always try to do the best on track yourself. Try to minimize mistakes and keep scoring points."
In recent years, Verstappen entered the season as the clear favourite. The Dutchman claimed four consecutive world titles, dominating in both 2022 and 2023. However, in 2024, especially during the second half of the season, things weren’t as smooth for the Red Bull Racing driver. Although he still won the championship comfortably in the end, it was clear that he might face a tougher challenge in 2025. Based on McLaren's performance, it seems Red Bull may not be the fastest team, at least in the opening races of the season.
Verstappen was then asked if he feels this will be the toughest season to defend his title. The Dutchman himself has no idea: "I don't know. I don't think about it. There's no reason to think about that yet."
This article was written in collaboration with Cas van de Kleut
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