[Artemis]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

MAX already has the record .But actually he doesn't care about records .

Originally Posted by minn19

He cares.

Originally Posted by G99M5

Of course he cares lol

Originally Posted by G99M5

he was saying Max doesn't care about records,
i am saying he does
of course he does

F1 race drivers eagerly care about records. Verstappen ain't no exception to that. Racing has completely dominated his life since over two decades now. And F1 is the elite of motor sport.

Throwback to 2015 (at that time only Schumacher was 7x WDC) - Dutch TV (see here @ 05:23 - 05:30):

• Question: "What would you like to ask your future self in 2030 ?"
  ("Wat wil je vragen aan je toekomstige zelf in 2030 ?")
• Verstappen: "Have I become more than 7 times world champion ?"
  ("Ben ik meer dan 7 keer wereldkampioen geworden ?")

Through experience Verstappen has matured since 2015. But the unstoppable hunger for winning races and titles seems to be hard-coded inside his mind. Ever since he started karting he was raised and trained by his dad Jos in a tough way with the 'take no prisoners' spirit: during his first three karting years he won 59 out of 60 championship races. Often competing with older kids. The only race he did not win was due to a mechanical failure. Zero presents for the other kids on track - ruthlessly going for the kill time and time again.

When competing on track he's a savage, fearless predator with a one-track mind for winning. It's likely an important part of the explanation why he might feel insulted when asked to give up a track position for a slow team mate - it's counter-intuitive, contrary to the "earn your racing stripes" / "always go for the kill" spirit he must have been reminded to a zillion times in the past.

F1 is a 'dog-eat-dog' world. On track, a true race driver is not necessarily a true gentleman. 'Kind' drivers normally never make it to F1 - ruthless competitors have them for lunch. As spectator, it's sometimes hard to understand the human side of it all, but many F1 race drivers have a different approach and mindset. And lots of money and pride/ego is involved.

But no matter whether you like or dislike Verstappen, the kid indisputably brilliantly masters racing skills.

Ayrton Senna in 1990 getting criticized (in a similar fashion as Verstappen) by Sir Jackie Stewart (3x WDC) about "often making contact with other drivers" and his "going for a gap" reply:

Hamilton in 2016 on how being a notorious "late braker" himself is an important part of becoming a champion and how "that's definitely one skill that you want to have":

Hamilton in 2016 on being competitive as F1 driver: "I'm as competitive as anyone I know. I'd like to think that I am the most competitive person I know in everything I do. But it's different when I was younger: when I was younger, there's no losing. You know, I would never think that losing was acceptable. But now, being older, I understand that losing is actually a part of it. Losing actually helped me to be the driver I am today. Those lows make the highs even higher.":