Verstappen coy over breaking Schumacher, Hamilton record

Max Verstappen is unsure over whether he will be able to match Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton's tally of seven F1 drivers' titles.

Verstappen claimed his fourth crown in Las Vegas to tie Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel as a quadruple champion, and is now just a single title behind Argentine great Juan Manuel Fangio. 

Verstappen's long-term future beyond his Red Bull 2028 contract in F1 is unclear, but if he were to win the title every year between now and then, that deal would expire with him as an eight-time champion - eclipsing the record Schumacher set in 2004 and Hamilton equalled in 2020. 

Reflecting on that possibility, Verstappen was not so sure he would be in a position to do so. 

"You need to have that momentum as well, you need to have the right team to be able to achieve that for a long period of time," Verstappen told media including RacingNews365 of the success that delivers titles and race wins. 

"It's not something that I set out to do. Of course, if it happens, it happens. But I'm already very proud to win four. I mean, at the end of the day, winning one or seven, it's the same thing, right?

"But, of course, if you can repeat it a few times, that is very nice. And, of course, I know that if we have that opportunity again, I mean, even with not the fastest car, we still won it, so I always know that when I sit in the car, I'm going to give it everything I have.

"Over the last few years, I also grew as a driver, and you definitely become more all around, so I am very excited to see what we can do next year. 

"It's very unknown at the moment how competitive we are going to be."