(CNN)Fresh off a stunning win at the 70th anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has said he appreciates being compared to F1 great Michael Schumacher but is his own man.
The 22-year-old was recently compared to Schumacher by F1 Managing Director Ross Brawn in his column on formula1.com.
“He reminds me of Michael Schumacher in a lot of ways,” Brawn said of the Dutchman, before adding: “I remember Max’s early days in Formula 1 where his speed was evident – he’s now become an exceptional racer matured.”
Speaking to CNN’s Amanda Davies, Verstappen said: “It was very nice of course, but I don’t like to compare myself to anyone because I’m myself and another driver.
“Of course you can always get similar shots or whatever, or you can sometimes be compared, but from my side I never do that. I just want to be myself.”
At 17 and 166 days, Verstappen became the youngest driver in F1 history when he competed in the 2015 Australian Grand Prix. He’s matured as a driver over the years, he said.
“[I’m] more relaxed, more consistent and knows how to build a weekend and stuff,” he added.
“I’m just really comfortable… I’m a very relaxed person anyway, so it’s never really been super high pressure for me, but I’m more relaxed in a way that I know what’s coming.
“I’ve experienced a lot so I’m looking forward to a weekend, I mean I’m looking forward to racing but I’m not very excited about other things that surround it because you have so many different emotions throughout it experienced weekend and the year.”
The Dutchman’s win at Silverstone was the ninth of his career but crossing the finish line still excites him.
“Winning is good,” he said. “A good qualifying lap could excite me. Just being around the team and working with the mechanics and even if they do a really good pit stop, that’s a great feeling too.”
Title challenge on?
Verstappen finished ahead of Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Valterri Bottas in sweltering conditions last Sunday.
Ahead of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen is second overall in the Drivers’ Championship – 30 points behind world champion Hamilton.
But so far this 13-race season has been Mercedes’ dominance – the team leads second-placed Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship by 67 points – the Red Bull driver wasn’t expecting a title challenge in the season remaining eight races.
“So far we’ve had one race where we might have been the fastest car, but we haven’t been in all the others, so we just have to be realistic at the moment,” said Verstappen from Barcelona.
“From my side, I’m not thinking about a possible championship at the moment. I just want to try to do my best every weekend.”
READ: Susie Wolff says Lewis Hamilton’s criticism of F1 is ‘perfectly valid’
fight for equality
The 2020 F1 season got underway at the Austrian Grand Prix in July, four months later than planned due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Since the restart, drivers have joined F1’s We Race As One initiative to fight racism and promote equality and inclusion.
But Verstappen is one of several drivers who have chosen not to kneel before races in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Post on Twitter Before the first race he said: “I am very committed to equality and the fight against racism. But I believe everyone has the right to express themselves (sic) at a time and in a way that suits them. I won’t take that away from me.” Knee today, but respect and support the personal choices each driver makes.”
Hamilton, the sport’s first and only black world champion in its 70-year history, has criticized the sport, saying it lacked leadership in the fight against racism.
After five races of the season, Verstappen said that while the season is going well, more needs to be done.
“It went well, as we put it, but at the end of the day it’s also about action. We just keep showing our support because I think everyone supports, which is very important and of course time will tell what will happen,” he said.
When asked if he and the other drivers spoke to Hamilton about the campaign, Verstappen said: “Of course we talk about it. We have our drivers’ briefings, but then of course we stay tuned because we are all members of the GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers’ Association).
“Everyone is very open and everyone is very supportive and everyone wants exactly the same thing. I think Lewis appreciates that, and not just Lewis needs to appreciate that, the whole world needs to appreciate that. We do, we’re just trying to show our support.”
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