“It can’t always be like this” - Max Verstappen braced for end of F1 dominance

Max Verstappen is prepared for his unprecedented period of dominance to come to an end, conceding “it cannot always be like this”.

Verstappen stormed to 19 victories in F1 2023 to claim his third consecutive drivers’ title.

The Dutchman broke a ridiculous amount of records along the way as he finished over 270 points clear of Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.

As a result of his dominance, many have tipped Verstappen to become the first driver to win eight world titles.

However, as seen in F1 history, periods of dominance do eventually end, and often abruptly.

Lewis Hamilton hasn’t won a race since challenging Verstappen for the 2021 crown, following a sequence of eight seasons where the Mercedes driver consistently competed at the front - and often won the title.

Michael Schumacher won five straight titles between 2000 and 2004 before an underwhelming 2005 - mainly down to a change to the regulations to hamper Ferrari - meant he could not challenge Fernando Alonso or Kimi Raikkonen.

While it’s likely Verstappen will win in 2024, given the stable regulations, he’s braced for his good run to come to an end.

“It cannot always be like this, I know that,” he told The Times. “The season we’ve had has been probably the best single season performance in F1, in terms of stats and records.

“So I know that it will be very hard to try and do better than that. I think I just have to manage my expectations from now on. That’s just something that you have to keep telling yourself.”

At just 26, Verstappen has plenty of year ahead of him, but the Red Bull driver feels that he’s “achieved everything”.

Verstappen has often spoken about retiring from F1, voicing his disapproval over the direction the sport is going.

For now, the aim for Verstappen is “trying to stay on top”.

“When I won my first title, I said, everything that comes next is a bonus because, realistically, in F1, I’ve achieved everything that I wanted to achieve,” he added.

“Being on the podium, having a pole position, winning a championship. These kinds of things were my dream to achieve in Formula 1. From now on, I’m just, yeah, trying to stay on top.”