"We want to win"- Max Verstappen not ready to play 'safe' and gift victories to F1 rivals despite strong lead in 2022 championship

Max Verstappen is not ready to play it safe and gift his rivals victories despite his healthy lead in the 2022 F1 championship. The Dutchman claims it would be 'wrong' to relax and assume he has already secured the championship.

Max Verstappen told the media:

"It would be wrong to relax. So many things can go wrong, but also go right. Our intention is that we want to win more races - that's how we will approach the remaining races."

He added about Red Bull's approach:

"We want to win more races. We're not here to say: 'Oh, we can only finish second or third, like that's okay.'"

The Red Bull driver currently holds a 116-point advantage over rival Charles Leclerc as the sport returns to Singapore. If the Dutchman manages to outscore Leclerc by 22-points in Singapore, he will be crowned a double world champion.

Despite practically having wrapped the season up already, Verstappen claims it would be wrong to relax and hope to win more races in 2022. The 24-year-old is close to breaking Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel's record of winning 13 races in a season.

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Max Verstappen likely to join the likes of Fernando Alonso, Graham Hill, Mika Hakkinen and others

If Max Verstappen is to win the 2022 F1 World Championship, he will join a club of elite drivers, including Fernando Alonso, Graham Hill, Mika Hakkinen, Jim Clark and Emerson Fittipaldi. The driver has been absolutely dominant in 2022 despite a rocky start where he found himself at a disadvantage of more than 40 points to championship rival Charles Leclerc.

However, the driver is currently on a five-race win streak as he aims to beat Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel's record of 13 race wins in a season.

Red Bull's Helmut Marko has backed Max Verstappen to break Schumacher and Vettel's record, claiming that the Dutchman will hit the magic number 14 this season.

"He managed it relatively easily again. It was a pity the [Italian GP] ended under the Safety Car. We had the upper hand. But it was amazing how quickly he took the lead. Everything is fine, and now we need one (two) more win(s), then he will set the record. Maybe we can do 14 wins.”

It will be interesting to see if Verstappen can wrap up the championship in Singapore. However, with the track likely to suit Ferrari more than Red Bull, the Scuderia will definitely make it harder for the world champion.