Page 67 - Sharp Summer 2021

MAX VERSTAPPEN HAS, FOR YEARS NOW, BEEN Formula One’s hottest talent. At just 23, he’s tak- en the sport by storm with his searing speed, his
razor-sharp overtakes, and his frenzied, orange-shirted fans that — pre-pandemic — packed the grandstands by the tens of thousands to cheer him on. But while his first six seasons at the pinnacle of motorsport were strong, he was always the underdog — even at top squad Red Bull Racing, where he’s been since Spain 2016, and where he’s stolen the occasional race win (10 in all between 2016 and 2020) from the table of dominant marque Mercedes, and its juggernaut driver, sev- en-time F1 world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton.
All that has changed this year, though, with Red Bull’s RB16B car. It’s a rocket; Honda threw open the paddock gate to bring all the horses home in its final year as power unit partner before pulling out of F1. The result is that, for the
first time in his career, Verstappen has a car that’s equal to
the field’s fastest — enough to beat Mercedes, a team that has dominated F1’s turbo-hybrid era since 2014 and secured seven straight title doubles. But to lift that maiden crown, Verstappen will need to go 23 rounds with Hamilton.
Did the Dutchman immediately realize the RB16B was going to be so strong, from the first shakedown test at Silver- stone in February? “Not immediately,” he tells Sharp. “There’s always a bit of time where you have to set up the car to what you like, because of the regulation changes. But I think during the test, we saw that we were in a decent shape. So, that’s, of course, very satisfying.”
So far, Verstappen and Hamilton have been trading blows. At the Bahrain season opener, Verstappen finished second
to Hamilton only because he illegally passed Hamilton off- track for the lead in the race’s closing stages, forcing Verstap- pen to give the lead back to Hamilton. At the next race, a wet Imola racetrack in Italy, Verstappen barged past Hamilton for the lead on turn two of lap one. He never looked back, securing his 11th win in Formula One. (His rival, though, finished in second after going off-track at the famous Tosa hairpin on lap 31, which meant impressively fighting his way back from ninth.)
Verstappen recently secured a victory at the Monaco Grand Prix, following Hamilton wins in Portugal and Spain, both of which saw Verstappen cross the finish line in second. But the Dutchman knows Hamilton can be rattled. “Clearly, you can see when the pressure comes on, people can make mistakes,” says Verstappen. “Have I learnt anything from [Hamilton]? I know that he rarely makes mistakes. Of course, he did at Imola, and he then got a bit lucky with the red flag to unlap himself. I guess that’s champion’s luck. But it’s fine. It’s still such a long season that these races aren’t going to define it yet. Of course, we have to keep on going, try to improve, and do even better.”
All of this is mostly going on behind closed doors, given
the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic — meaning it’s something of a lonely fight, too. “Yeah, it feels a bit different, of course, because of the lack of atmosphere around the track,” says Ver- stappen. “Sadly, we’ve got a bit used to it because of last year,
and I think it will be a bit weird when they finally come back again. But, of course, it would be really nice to see them all back. And I’m pretty sure the first race where full attendance is allowed is going to be great. So, at the moment, it’s a shame, but we just have to get through with it, get on with it, and try to not think about it too much and hope that everything will be back to as normal as possible very soon.”
But if you think a lack of fans at the track and a protracted title battle with the sport’s most successful driver would tip Verstappen over the edge, think again. He is super-resilient and doesn’t need mind-management tricks to get what he wants: that World Championship. “To be honest, I don’t really think [my mental game is] a problem,” he says. “We just need to make sure that — as a team — we have a fast car and we do things well and without mistakes. That is going to be the most important thing for the rest of this season because people will get a bit tired; people will make mistakes. We have to make sure we make the fewest mistakes.”
He has also not made any changes to his lifestyle. He is doing exactly what he loves, has a routine locked in, and knows what he needs to do — on the track and off — to keep achieving as he has. It’s about keeping it simple. “I just like to go home and spend time with family and friends,” he says. “I think that’s what I’ve been doing for quite a few years, and it works well for me. Like, basically, not doing much travelling.”
Make no mistake, though, it is a gruelling season. A record 23 races on the calendar and two triple-headers (races held across three straight weekends) are likely to put the F1 pad- dock under maximum strain. “[It doesn’t matter] if it’s 21 or 23, it’s pretty similar in the way that you handle the season,” he says. “But, of course, there are some double-headers and triple-headers, and they’re going to be quite tough. But we also did that last year. To do 17 races [in 23 weeks last year], it was very busy. I think we’re ready for it, though. Personally,
I think it’s too much. But we cannot decide the calendar. I think it’s going to be fine. Luckily, I’m still very young. So that helps.”
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