Does Max Verstappen think he'll win 2021 F1 title?

At the time of writing, five races still remain. Again remarkable when you consider that at the same point in the 2008 season, Lewis Hamilton had dramatically clinched the first of his seven championships at the final race of that year in Brazil. How times have changed in F1.

But here we are, with 133 points still up for grabs and with Red Bull driver Verstappen holding a 12-point lead over Mercedes rival Hamilton. One driver seeking his maiden title, the other what would be a record-breaking eighth. Yet Verstappen is as calm and as relaxed as they come, with no sign he is cleverly concealing any nerves. Perhaps that might change the closer he gets to realising his ambition but you sense that is unlikely to be the case.

"I guess I've always been like that," said Verstappen in an interview with this writer. "I've always been pretty much the same person I think.

"I like what I'm doing in F1. I always try to do the best I can, but there is no additional pressure. I would say if you have a good car it even takes more pressure away because you go into a weekend and you know you can have a good result. That makes me really calm."

There are no outside influences with Verstappen, no sports psychologist, no wellbeing experts to help concentrate his mind and channel his energy. It comes naturally.

"Oh no, I don't do these kinds of things," said Verstappen with a smile. "I like to have a good time at home with family, friends, just normal stuff, nothing crazy or special.

"It's important to have that life because I think a lot of people take F1 too seriously, or they allow whatever happens in F1 to also influence their personal life. For me, that's definitely not the case."

Instead, Verstappen is grounded, a realist. Only recently, ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix in early October, he raised eyebrows and his motivation was questioned when he remarked that if he failed to win the championship this year, finishing second would not alter his life.

Expanding on the remark, and with a shrug of the shoulders, Verstappen again adopted a phlegmatic approach.

"I know if my car is fast enough until the end of the season, I will win the championship, but if it's not, then we probably won't win it," was the 24-year-old's obvious assessment, before adding: "At the end of the day, it's not going to change my world.

"Of course, the goal, the dream is always to win the championship, but you need to have a bit of luck, you need to have the right car, for it to be at the right time of the season or across the whole season. It depends on how close it is with other teams.

"I know that everyone within the team has done their very best so far and we will do so until the end of the year. It is the same for me.

"Everybody's trying to achieve the best result they can. If that means, at the end of the day, we finish second then so be it. You cannot force things."

There is a sense the Verstappen of now is not too far removed from the teenager that took F1 by storm nearly seven years ago when he became the sport's youngest debutant at 17 years and 166 days. The fact it has taken him this long to finally be involved in a championship battle is, of course, a major surprise. But apart from the obvious exception of experience, Verstappen concedes not too much has changed.

"I would probably have made a few errors when I was 17, 18, compared to how I am driving now," assessed the Dutchman. "But in terms of personality, I think I am the same more or less.

"While speed doesn't improve, let's say, a lot, it's mainly just the experience of the moments that happen in your career that make you a better driver, or at least I'd say, more consistent."

Through it all, Verstappen has always relied on the same people to see him through, his father Jos primarily, naturally, a figure he declares that "without him, I wouldn't be sitting here right now".

He added: "You need to have the right people around you who also tell you when you do something wrong.

"In F1, it's very easy to surround yourself with people who only say yes to you and say 'Great job! Everything is great!'

"With how I grew up, I always had people around me who would, of course, compliment me if I did well, but also tell me the critical points and what could be better. That helped me a lot."

Finally, Verstappen has reached that point in his motorsport career where he stands on the brink of becoming F1's 34^th champion. A rare feat indeed.

"I would be disappointed if I would've had the fastest car and not win it, but if, as I said, I lose out by not having the fastest car, then what can you do? There's nothing you can do," remarked Verstappen.

"Of course, it's a dream from when I was a little kid, together with my dad, to get to Formula 1 in the first place and then trying to fight for a title. So, for sure, it would mean a lot if we can win it."

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.