“I lost a lot also before winning in F1”: Max Verstappen not afraid of losing as he shares a glance of his elite mentality

Two-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen is at arm's length from his third title as he can win the 2023 F1 driver's championship in the Sprint race in Qatar. En route to his third consecutive title this season, Verstappen has broken a handful of records, racking up 13 wins.

The Red Bull driver has been in his own league this season, thanks to his adaptability and his tenacity to achieve the best result every weekend. However, behind the mask of a driver who appears to be a winning machine, Verstappen admits he is not afraid of losing.

Max Verstappen recently opened up about his mindset on Red Bull's Mind Set Win podcast, where he said both winning and losing are part of the game:

“No, I'm not afraid of losing. I do hate losing, but that's also part of the game. At the end of the day, you lose more than you win.”

He added:

"I lost a lot also before winning in F1. I've been through the stage of not being able to win and now that we’re winning you have to just enjoy the moment and enjoy while it lasts."

Max Verstappen has been the most dominant driver in F1 since 2021, but prior to his maiden title-winning campaign, wins were hard to come by as Mercedes dominated the previous decade.

Of Verstappen's current tally of 48 wins, only 10 of those came in the last decade, from 2016 to 2020. During this period when his rivals were dominant, Verstappen bided his time but never stopped believing in his own abilities.

This season, when Max Verstappen's 10-race win streak ended in Singapore, the Red Bull driver was nonchalant about it and resumed his normal service the following weekend in Japan, where he decimated his competition.

---

Former F1 driver reckons Max Verstappen up there with the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher

Japan F1 GP

Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok heaped praise on Max Verstappen, putting him in the elite group of drivers, including seven-time champions Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.

Speaking to OLBG, Chandhok reckoned the Red Bull driver belongs in the group of all-time greats in terms of natural talent, as he believes stats don't tell the complete story.

He said:

“I think Max is, in terms of natural talent, up there with the absolute best we've ever seen in the sport, along with Ayrton Senna, Jim Clark, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost."

He added:

“I'm not a big fan of using stats to tell the story, it's one part of the equation. Clark raced in a dangerous era, won two championships and never had the chance to carry on, Senna, likewise, didn't get the chance to finish the '94 season.”

He continued:

“Max Verstappen is, unquestionably, on his way to becoming one of the all-time greats.”

Chandhok also ranked Red Bull dominance as one of the top-six in all of F1's history.