Verstappen: "That's always been the case in Formula 1, that's nothing new"

Max Verstappen has accepted that Mercedes are the fastest team this year and that winning the world title is probably not a possibility. The Dutchman explained on Thursday at Spa-Francorchamps how he deals with this. 

Verstappen accepts it

"You learn to accept it and try to get the best out of it. That has always been the case in Formula 1 anyway, that's nothing new," explained Verstappen.

When asked whether he would be better off accepting that he now drives a lesser car than he did during his first years in the pinnacle of motor racing, he replied: "No, you already know that before you end up in Formula 1. That is simply the case here. You can't always be in the winning car, so you accept that".

Verstappen said that he found out 'fairly quickly' that Mercedes would be too fast in 2020. "Of course, you try to stay as positive as possible and push through. However, you also have to be realistic and accept that one team is superior", says the nine-time Grand Prix winner, who is delighted with his own performance so far. "I am satisfied with it. I don't think too much about it, it's what I have to do".

Max does not expect a pole position

From next weekend onwards, qualifying mode will be abolished in Formula 1. However, Verstappen does not expect to be able to compete for pole position with his RB16. "Hopefully we can get a little closer from Monza, but I don't expect any differences in the results during qualifying," he concluded.