Exclusive interview with Max Verstappen

The 1 Formula 2023 season ended on Sunday in Abu Dhabi with another stylish victory for Max Verstappen. An excellent opportunity to look back on the conversation he previously had with Jaap de Groot. The driver made an exception for Jaap to be interviewed exclusively for MASTERS Magazine.

Text: Jaap de Groot 

Image: Red Bull

Let's get straight to the point: what is top sport for you?

“Working perfectly. If things don't go perfectly, I can get irritated. I always look for the limit. That is the condition I set for myself. As soon as it no longer interests me, it is no longer a top sport for me.”

Are you working on that 365 days a year?

“Not with Formula 1, but with top sport itself, which ultimately affects Formula 1. Like working on the simulator. That is relaxation, but more in the sense of doing something other than Formula 1. By tackling it very seriously, things remain sharp and I have never collapsed when I report to a Grand Prix again.”

You approach racing in the simulator as seriously as you would a Formula 1 competition. In addition to your world title, you also became champion last year with your SIM racing team Redline.

“It's fun, competitive and effective to do. It also requires a lot of perseverance and discipline, because you need at least forty to fifty hours of training before you can seriously participate in an online race. I am now working on a very advanced simulator at home, with all the trimmings. During the winter, when there are no races, it is ideal to test and fine-tune the car. When I get back into the real car, it immediately feels familiar. That's how advanced this simulator is. In addition to the functional aspect for Formula 1, I like competitive competition and the online races with Team Redline are a solution. It is difficult to say how much influence it will have on Formula 1, but it certainly cannot do any harm.”

Subconsciously working on improving is also an essential aspect of top sport. For example, at the start of your Formula 1 career you took up karting to relax; at the same time it was also a form of preparation for the next race.

“That's right, but I haven't karted in five or six years. The simulator has replaced that; it's more practical because I can do it at home. Instead of karting, I now sometimes rent a closed circuit in my spare time to race different cars for a day. Not only because it is a lot of fun, but because I also learn other things from it.”

So we are always fine-tuning to maintain and improve the level. Inside and outside the pits. So also in terms of diet?

“Fortunately, I am always at my limit in terms of weight. I now weigh 78 kilos with helmet and all the trimmings. After the departure of my previous trainer, I told my current personal coach that I wanted to enjoy life a little. I don't necessarily have to be a triathlete. I used to pay attention to whether there was cheese in something, but I don't think about it that way anymore. Sometimes I want to enjoy the food and I realize very well when I have to be serious about it and when I can be a little less serious.”

You are considered a game changer in Formula 1. By the way you drive and act. But also because you have transformed it from an individual sport into a team sport.

“There can be no misunderstanding that Formula 1 is now truly a team sport. Of course I'm the only one in the car, but there's so much more to it than just you. Especially when, like now, everything is close together. Then you need the team even more.”

I will never forget your comment, during your first days of testing with Toro Rosso in Jerez, when I asked about your role as a 17-year-old among all those adult employees. As young as you were, you gave the telling answer: 'I am the mechanic, the mechanic who drives.' That said a lot about you back then.

[Max falls silent for a moment, then:] “You're all working together. I provide technicians with information to adjust things and to the engineers to think about. I hope to get something in return. After all, we are all trying to go faster.”

Can you compare Red Bull to a football team?

“I understand what you mean, but ultimately I don't think it compares. It's different.”

Is that right? For example, you are the striker within Red Bull. The person who has to finish it. The finisher.

“Football is certainly different when it comes to team building. You travel a lot together and train a lot together. That is very different for me. I train at home in Monaco while the mechanics are busy at the factory in England. We don't travel together either. You don't sit together in the dressing room, because I have my own space on the circuit. The tactics are also discussed with certain people, but not with everyone. If I express certain preferences, such as more control here or there, I do so in a more person-oriented manner. In football it especially works if you are together a lot.”

So when you watch a match of your favorite club PSV, you never make the comparison with how things work at Red Bull?

“To be honest, I never thought about it that way. Again: it is something different.”

Does perfectionism sometimes get in your way?

"No, I do not think so. When something doesn't work out, I sometimes feel disappointed, but I don't keep worrying or exhibiting strange behavior. Ultimately, I'm fairly down-to-earth about that. I actually never have the feeling afterwards: Hey Max, you should have handled that a little more calmly. It is what it is. Snapshots that can sometimes also be functional.”

You often see that after races where things have gone wrong. With a top team it is always unpleasant until the next match. You contribute to that. Only you have the special ability to respond in such a way that no one is personally attacked, but everyone is still put on edge. Do you do that consciously?

“Yes, that's how I grew up. I may be a little less forceful than my father, but I am disappointed when things don't go as they should. That was certainly the case at the beginning of the season, also because I was so focused on prolonging the world title. Then it is worthless and feels worthless. Of course it is not necessary to scold someone, but you do have to tell it like it is and what you think. That is also part of an honest, professional relationship. If I do something bad, they tell me so. That is also necessary. What needs to be said, needs to be said. That is an important quality that we have in the team.”

Sans resentment?

“If we have fallen out against each other and then I come back from the circuit or the simulator or whatever, no one is down anymore. Everyone is working hard again to make it happen. I actually think that's quite nice. No one is attacking each other, it is functional. This is how it should be in top sport. You have to be able to be critical of each other. Sometimes harsh, but always honest.”