Verstappen jokes at press conference about Russell relationship: 'Terrible'

Russell said he would not race differently against Verstappen. How Verstappen views his rapport with his British rival? "Terrible, yeah. No, of course not. No. No, of course not. That's what people maybe like to hear, but no, it's absolutely fine."

With that, the topic was immediately closed and the focus switched directly to how his teammate Sergio Perez is doing. The Mexican has got off to a good start in 2023, winning two of the four races, as many as Verstappen. Twice, the Dutchman had to give way to his teammate on a street circuit.

"No, I mean, I think sometimes, you know, some tracks probably suit you a bit better and probably for Checo, you know, his driving style and the way he likes the car probably suits a bit better to a street circuit. I personally don't really enjoy street circuits. So probably there is also something in that. I prefer more the fast corners, but that's how it goes. You know, you have a few street circuits on the calendar, a few normal tracks as well," he laughed.

The RB19 is so dominant on Sunday that Verstappen seems to only have to fight Perez. Helmut Marko ruled out team orders for the time being in doing so. Verstappen does not think the rivalry between them has really increased after four races. "It’s so early on in the season, we know that we have a very quick car, so it's quite normal that it's between the two of us at the moment. So there's nothing new there. And between us, we have a good understanding, good relationship."

"I think what we want to focus on is just to try and make the car better and faster, to try and stay ahead of everyone else. That's the main objective and then the rest you will do on the track anyway," Verstappen concluded.