“Don’t you forget to drink?”, Fans worldwide heard Max Verstappen calling out to his engineer over the team radio over the past two races. During the races this season, the Red Bull driver still finds time to joke and frolic with his team at over 300 kilometers per hour around the circuit.
A week after his special crash during the reconnaissance lap on the way to the Hungarian starting grid, he could not resist. “This time the atmosphere was a bit more relaxed, don’t you think?”, Verstappen joked two weeks ago at the start of the British Grand Prix. It says a lot about the mental state of the Dutch, who are currently extremely relaxed.
In conversation with The Race gives the Dutchman text and explanation about his comments. “It’s fun for the guys in the garage, it takes the pressure off a bit. Sometimes you see, for example, that a mechanic is very nervous, or something like that. Then I like to take the pressure off everyone’s shoulders. “, explains De Limburger.
However, it does not mean that he is not concentrated, there should be no misunderstandings about that. “That doesn’t mean I’m not focused, but sometimes it’s good to have a laugh before the start of a race. It relaxes the body, it’s good for everyone.”
At the same time, the Dutchman has to keep his Red Bull RB16 on the track, of course, but during the quiet moments during a race, Verstappen still has enough capacity left to point out to his engineer that he should drink enough water or wash his hands. At those moments he is in such a flow that he is actually like a robot, he says.
“There always comes a point where you are actually like a robot and everything just happens very naturally. You don’t have to think about it anymore. Round after round, after round, then you just know what to do. But” , Verstappen adds. “If the circumstances are a bit more challenging, such as changing weather conditions, then you have to focus more.”
“Then you have to be really alert, like in the German Grand Prix last season. The track changes every lap, the grip levels, different tires, pit stops, etc. But during the Grand Prix at Silverstone I was not under pressure, so then you go. automatically working more on the autopilot “, said the number two in the championship.
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