Exclusive: Max Verstappen explains why defending F1 crown will be far from 'straightforward' in 2024

Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen has outlined his goals for the remainder of his career in an exclusive interview with SPORTbible.

The 2023 season was a walk in the park for Verstappen as he won a record-breaking amount of races, 19, in a dominant campaign for Red Bull.

The 26-year-old romped to his third successive F1 world title, clinching the title in Qatar in October with six grands prix to spare.

Last week, he took a completely new challenge by racing against four amateur racers during Heineken’s Player 0.0 event in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

The event was created in partnership with Verstappen, giving fans and gamers the chance to race against the three-time F1 world champion in the global finals in Amsterdam.

During the final, Verstappen came third, with Dutch sim racer Floris Wijers taking the win.

Speaking to SPORTbible at the event, Verstappen spoke about his career aspirations as he looks to win his fourth consecutive F1 world title when the 2024 season begins in March.

"I try to always improve myself and stay on top," the Red Bull superstar revealed.

"But I know that is also very dependent on the whole package that we have so it’s not that straightforward. But yeah, constantly trying to improve myself."

Heineken

Aside from his career aspirations, Verstappen also spoke about how each driver's different style of driving makes F1 such an exciting sport to watch.

He said: "That's the beautiful bit, everyone is different, everyone has their own unique way of driving. Every driver has their little way of acting of how they attack corners, how they do a start and that’s what makes it unique.

"At the end of the day in F1, you have to adapt to the car that you have. Every single year it’s a bit different, so it’s also about adapting your driving style to what the car needs.”

Advising aspiring racers who one day want to emulate his success, Verstappen added: "It's all about how much you want it at the end.

"There are a lot of talented kids out there who can drive really well but you also need to have that dedication to make it to the end."

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Verstappen also touched on why he got involved with the campaign.

"Well, what was nice is that when we started talking about things that we could do together, we had this idea of engaging the next generation of racing fans. Bringing this to everyone all over the world, which is also in line with my own sim racing team, Team Redline," he said.

"Giving people the opportunity to race, no matter where you come from or, what your background is. Of course, initially virtually but at least now there is the chance to grow to endless possibilities."

The 2024 F1 season will begin in March with the Bahrain Grand Prix set to take place on March 2.

Max Verstappen was speaking to SPORTbible at Heineken’s Player 0.0 event in Amsterdam, Netherlands. To find out more about the Player 0.0 campaign, click here.