Jos Verstappen believes it is harder now for Max to "make the difference" in 2024 after Red Bulls rivals close in. After the dominant 2023 season in which it failed to win just one race all season, Red Bull has been beaten three times in the first eight rounds of 2024, including on pure performance in Miami and Monaco by McLaren and Ferrari, respectively. Boss Christian Horner has spoken of the team finding 'diminishing returns' in its car concept as McLaren and Ferrari improve their packages, with Verstappen also believing Max's form of recent years should be "valued." "Yes, you see that this year it’s more challenging to make the difference with the competition closing in," he explained to Max Verstappen's official website. "Every weekend, you have to perform at 100%. Everything has to be right, from being fit to working well with your engineer. It’s all about the details. "I don’t think everyone realises how much Max needs to do to perform like this. It’s not something that just happens. "The competitors have not got it together as much as they wanted and they appreciate what Max has done. What he’s shown in 2023 is unique and I think it should be valued."

In 2023, Verstappen smashed multiple F1 records, setting new benchmarks for most wins in a season (19), points (575) and laps led in the season (1,003) as he also won a record 10 straight races between Miami and Italy. His father has wondered if the Dutchman, who has five wins from the first eight races of 2024, has any more to give. "That’s a difficult question to answer. With experience you can improve, but can he get much better? I don’t know," he observed. "I think Max was ready to be a world champion at 21. "What I see in Max now, I’d seen in go-karts. But off-track, I see a very relaxed guy, almost looking like he doesn’t really care. "When Max was still in go-karts, I was worried about that, but that’s just his way of preparing. "He doesn’t want to be occupied with lots of things. 'We’ll see' is Max’s approach."

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