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Max Verstappen after his victory in Austin - Photo: RacePictures
F1 News

Verstappen's main edge in the title fight over McLaren duo unveiled

13:51, 23 Oct
Updated: 14:47, 23 Oct
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James Hinchcliffe believes Max Verstappen holds a key advantage over the two McLaren drivers.
"On Max's side, there's nothing to lose. He has to just keep winning and so he's got one goal."
- James Hinchcliffe
Speaking to F1 Nation, the Canadian driver believes the Dutchman isn’t carrying the same pressure or expectation of having to win the championship at all costs unlike Norris and Piastri.
"On Max's side, there's nothing to lose. To even be in the conversation, he has to just keep winning. He's got one goal. You're not protecting anything. You've got to be bold on strategy. You've got to take risks on track — something he's good at doing anyway, naturally does anyway."
"He's driving pretty free and clear because he doesn't really have to worry about it. He was never supposed to win this championship. No one expected him to win it. He's going to go out and win races if he can. So he's in a very good spot."
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Photo: RacePictures
Hinchcliffe pointed out that the two McLaren drivers — experiencing their first real title fight — are feeling far more pressure than Verstappen, especially given the superiority of the car they’re driving.
"On the flip side, you've got two drivers that are in their very first championship battle. And that just brings a completely different kind of pressure."
The Canadian drew a parallel with 2021 — the year Verstappen found himself fighting for the title for the first time — noting how the pressure back then was far greater than in any of the three championships that followed.
"You look at Max in ’21 versus Max in ’22 or ’24, when the titles were a little bit closer. There were mistakes in ’21. There were signs that he was having to manage some pressure in his first title fight that were different from what Lewis was doing that year, having been there many times before."

Verstappen aims for perfection ahead of Mexican GP

After a flawless weekend in Austin — where he claimed victory in both the sprint and the Grand Prix — Max Verstappen heads to Mexico knowing he’s now far closer to the heart of the title fight than he’s been in recent rounds.
However, to keep chipping away at the gap to Piastri and Norris, the Dutchman knows he’ll need to execute everything to perfection — both on a personal level and in terms of maximising the car’s potential.

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