Red Bull’s Max Verstappen: ‘We’ll try’ to add to record-breaking F1 season with more Grand Prix wins

Max Verstappen hopes to extend his record-breaking 14 wins in a Formula 1 season.

There are two more races to come in the 2022 campaign, and Verstappen made it 14 after another victory on Sunday at the Mexican Grand Prix.

The two-time champion held off a spirited challenge from rival Lewis Hamilton, whose Mercedes team are finishing the season with stronger performances than at any other point of the competition this year.

Hamilton suffered with porpoising early in the season after an overhaul of car design for all teams, something that Mercedes struggled to rectify until mid-season changes were brought in for all teams as the governing body looked to make the cars less physically demanding for drivers.

Since then Hamilton has been a more consistent performer, with George Russell also doing well for the German team, but neither of them has been able to win a Grand Prix in 2022.

There had been hopes when Hamilton qualified in third and his teammate second, but Verstappen looked likely to do well in pole, with some early hopes for Hamilton that the right setup could lead him to his first maximum weekend.

However the Dutchman was rarely troubled, helped by his opponent’s poor choice of tyres with Mercedes principal Toto Wolff conceding after the race.

Verstappen’s 14 races are a new record, but he has been helped by the extended F1 season compared to shorter schedules in previous seasons.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, Verstappen said leading from the front had helped him along the way.

“Of course the start helped me out a lot for the rest of the race. We were also on a different strategy to the other cars around us but again, an incredible result,” he said.

He discussed the race strategy for the tyres, stating: “The pace of the car was really nice. We had to look after our tyres because it was a really long stint on the mediums but we made it work.

“It’s an incredible atmosphere and we love to come here.”

He concluded by saying Red Bull hoped to win more races before the close of the current season.

“It’s been an incredible year so far, we are definitely enjoying it and we’ll try to go for more (victories),” he said.