Max Verstappen says Red Bull resilience key to bid for fifth straight F1 title

LONDON – Max Verstappen believes the knowledge Red Bull gained from a hard-fought 2024 Formula One season could help him in his quest to win a record-equalling fifth successive drivers’ world championship.

The Dutchman claimed his fourth straight title in Las Vegas in November, becoming just the fifth driver in F1 history to achieve that feat.

If he manages to retain his crown in F1’s 75th anniversary season, Verstappen would join an even more exclusive club by drawing level with Michael Schumacher’s record of five championships in a row.

While he eventually won the 2024 title by 63 points from Lando Norris, it was Norris’ McLaren team who deprived Red Bull of a hat-trick of constructors’ championships after winning a close battle with second-placed Ferrari.

“If we are competitive as a team, then I’m sure that we can win it again,” Verstappen said during the F1 season launch at London’s O2 Arena on Feb 18.

“We are very experienced and we showed that also last year when it was a bit tougher for us, we were still maximising our results. And that’s, I think, the big strength of the team.”

But he also said that with pre-season testing in Bahrain still to take place from Feb 26-28 ahead of the opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 16, it was hard to assess Red Bull’s prospects.

“I don’t know where we are at the moment. I think no one knows that. And in a few weeks we’ll know.”

The 27-year-old added: “I’ve not driven my car, no one has seen the other cars, so you can speculate about it, but it’s just a waste of energy to think about that yet. It’s good for the sport if it’s exciting, but I don’t know at the moment.”

In January, Britain’s