Verstappen: 'I never expected that, but here we are'

Max Verstappen equalled one of the most impressive F1 records with his win at Zandvoort. With the Dutch GP victory, the Red Bull Racing driver set a nine-race win streak. The Dutchman remembers when Sebastian Vettel did this a decade ago. Back then, he thought no one would ever repeat it.

Verstappen previously indicated that he also wants to break the record now, although he will not be explicitly concerned with 'number ten'. The driver made this known ahead of the Italian Grand Prix. Verstappen is quoted by Speedcafe.com: "Now that we are here, of course, I try to win 10 but it’s more about I want to just win. It’s not about the number 10 in my head."

That, he says, will keep him on his toes this weekend: "It’s already difficult enough different with the different tyre choices we have to deal with. We’ll just get on with it and we’ll see what happens." The two-time F1 champion remembers well when Vettel took his ninth consecutive victory in Brazil 10 years ago.

Verstappen thinks back to his 16-year-old self: "I was like, ‘Wow! That’s just a crazy number. No one ever will do something like that – and here we are. It’s a crazy number, but also I’m not really too fixated on it."