Max Verstappen addresses F1 motivation as title defence failure looms

Max Verstappen has insisted it is "not that hard" to remain motivated in Formula 1, despite being on the verge of a first title defence failure. 

The four-time world champion enters this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix a considerable 97 points adrift of championship leader Oscar Piastri, with just 10 rounds remaining. 

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has already ruled Verstappen out of a record-equalling fifth consecutive title, whilst the Dutchman has counted himself out for months. 

It is set to be an all-McLaren scrap for the drivers' title, representing the first time in his F1 career that Verstappen has failed to defend his crown. 

Red Bull's troublesome RB21 has denied Verstappen a fair shot at going for a fifth consecutive title, although he insists it has not dented his motivation for the remainder of the season.

"It's not that hard, to be honest," Verstappen told media at Zandvoort, addressing the difficulty of remaining motivated. "There will be a time that it won’t happen. Unfortunately, that is a bit the case at the moment. 

"But it doesn’t make sense for me to be frustrated or be screaming about it, because it's just a waste of energy. That’s not what I'm doing. 

"I think we just need to look at the car and the operation and how we can move forward in the future and be better. That’s what we are doing currently."

Verstappen's home hopes

Motivation is far from an issue for Verstappen at his home race this weekend, where wet weather could cause chaos. 

Since Zandvoort returned to the F1 calendar in 2021, the home hero has claimed three victories but was denied a fourth by Lando Norris last season. 

Whilst the Red Bull driver expects to be closer to McLaren than the Austrian outfit was in Hungary, he does not expect the circuit to suit the RB21.

Asked if he expects to be closer to the front than in Hungary, Verstappen said: "I would hope so! That was not a great weekend for us, so I hope that we can be closer. 

"I don't think this is going to be our best track in the remainder of the calendar, but then again, there might be some weather coming in as well. 

"So that always creates a bit of chaos, so we just need to see what happens."