Max Verstappen isn't concerned about 'being the favourite' for 2023 F1 season

Max Verstappen is not too bothered by being termed the favorite to win the 2023 F1 driver title.

The Red Bull driver will be defending his title this season after completing a dominant run last season in which he won 15 races. He broke the record for the most wins in a season, a record previously held jointly by Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher with 13 wins in a season.

Max Verstappen also won his first title in 2021 against Lewis Hamilton in a tense championship battle. Looking at his evolution as a driver and his dominant win last year, the Belgian-Dutch driver is seen as the favorite for the title this season as well.

Max Verstappen, however, is unconcerned by these tags. During the launch of the 2023 F1 car, he said:

"I never really think about being the favourite because you have to keep on working, you have to keep on improving because if you're not they will catch up and overtake you."

He added:

"As a driver you always try to look at yourself, what can you do better and you try to come back stronger every single year even though sometimes that's a hard task."

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Max Verstappen's take on the personnel change in different teams

Verstappen was questioned over the recent shuffling of team principals at multiple teams on the grid. Teams like Ferrari, McLaren, Alfa Romeo, and Williams will have new team principals this season.

When questioned if this could have an adverse effect on the teams, the Red Bull driver was quite pragmatic about the situation.

According to Verstappen, it is surely going to take some time for the new members to bed in with the team. However, at the same time, that doesn't mean that productivity is going to see a drastic drop in any which way. He said:

"About people leaving other teams, I don't know. It's difficult to say from the outside if it's a good thing or a bad thing, is it going to interrupt their work? If new people come in it always takes a little bit of time to settle in ... but I think you can still get a lot of performance out of it straight away."

Max Verstappen will have an uphill climb this season in the title battle. Red Bull will have to overcome the odds of being compromised by the cost cap breach penalty enforced on the team this season.