Friday, Dec 17, 2021 • 38min
The making of a champion: Max Verstappen
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From the moment he became the youngest driver ever to win in Formula One in 2016 at the age of 18, Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen has been the sport's brightest light. Now, in the 2021 F1 season, Max Verstappen was crowned World Champion.
But who is Max Verstappen and how did he get to this moment? Find the answers here, courtesy of drivers, team-mates, journalists, fans and those closest to him – such as drivers Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Liam Lawson and F1 legend David Coultard, F1 commentator Jess McFadyen, BMX champ Twan van Gendt, and Max’s father, ex-F1 driver Jos Verstappen – as well as exclusive interviews from Max himself.
Learn about the Dutch driver's rise from karting prodigy to competing in his first F1 practice session in 2014 for Scuderia Toro Rosso – just a week after his 17th birthday – followed by podium finishes in the world championships in 2019 and 2020. And now, the Red Bull Racing Honda star stands on top of the world, capping a brilliant season with an incredible last-gasp win in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Discover more about Beyond the Ordinary and find every episode at redbull.com/beyondtheordinary.
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Talking about
Speakers
(11)
Nick Bright
Max Verstappen
David Coulthard
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Transcript
Verified
Nick Bright
00:08
Abu Dhabi
, December 12, 2021.Share
00:14
Floodlights illuminate the racetrack in front of you. The laps are ticking down, chasing, chasing you tell yourself, "keep fighting, keep dreaming, don't give up".
Share
00:31
And then suddenly.... an incident back in the field brings out the safety car. A third pit stop. New soft compounds. You can see him now the car in front closer, closer, fast forward, he floors it. You follow. This is it: the moment you've been waiting for your whole life.
Share
01:08
You jink left and send it down the inside of him. Will to will. Your past. You catch a glimpse of the checkered flag ready to wait for you. You take a deep breath, and cross the finish line. Out in front.
Share
01:25
As the fireworks explode in the night sky around you, the realization.
Max Verstappen
is Formula 1's
newest World Champion:
a moment he dreamt about all his life.Share
Max Verstappen
01:39
At the end of the day, we want to win the world championship. That's what we're here for.
Share
01:42
I'm just waiting to have a chance, you know, to fight for it and, you know, every year, I think you become a better driver as well. But yeah, I think I'm just looking forward to have that shot, you know?
Share
01:54
I like winning races and that's what you do it for at the end of the day.
Share
Nick Bright
01:58
Supremely quick, sublimely talented. He achieves the seemingly impossible in an
F1
Car
.Share
Max Verstappen
02:06
To become more champion was of course my my final goal in
Formula 1
, of course, very happy that it happened and I I said already yesterday, everything else, what happens now is just a bonus.Share
02:20
You know, when I saw
my dad
coming out of the car, I mean that was a very special moment because you start talking to each other and realize, you know what we did back in the days through go-karting
, traveling all over Europe
together in the van, and then you look each other in the eye and you're like, we did it, we won the world championship.Share
Nick Bright
02:38
But was it always meant to be?
Share
Jess McFadyen
02:41
Max's
reputation? Is an interesting one because I think as much as he showed his prowess and his speed out on track, he did make a lot of mistakes and could very quickly get hotheaded.Share
Nick Bright
02:55
So are we seeing a new
Max
?Share
David Coulthard
02:58
He was always going to like a puppy, like any young driver, he was going to pee on the carpet occasionally. But what was also clear is he had great speed and great adaptability and it was very clear, he was very talented, you know, it takes every driver to three seasons to get fully established, but you see in the first season raw speed and ability and that was something that was clear when he was in
Toro Rosso
.Share
Nick Bright
03:32
I'm
Nick Bright
and you're listening to Beyond The Ordinary from Red Bull
and this is The Making of a Champion Max Verstappen.
In this episode, we hear from drivers, teammates, journalists, fans, those closest to him and the man himself. As we get the inside line on how this Dutchman has gone from talented teenager and occasional race winner to an F1
World Champion. And if you want more stories from Beyond The Ordinary, make sure you follow us on Apple, Spotify, Amazon or wherever you listen to your podcasts.Share
04:10
Okay, before we delve into the past, let's bring you up to speed on the here and now and a season in
F1
involving our man Max
unlike any before.Share
Jess McFadyen
04:20
I'm Jess McFadyen and I'm a motorsport commentator. We were so used to the narrative of
Lewis Hamilton
and Mercedes
. Hamilton
has been almost begging for a true competitor and I think of all the field that we have, the current drivers that we have, it was going to be Verstappen that was potentially going to be his only contender. Red Bull
just needed to give him a world championship-winning car and I think they've managed that this year.Share
Nick Bright
04:50
And challenge
Lewis Hamilton's
, he did. Over 22 race weekends, Verstappen
and Red Bull
have gone toe to toe with Mercedes
and Lewis Hamilton's
the dominant forces in motorsport for almost a decade.Share
David Coulthard
05:04
It's a wonderful thing as a race fan to be able to witness.
Share
05:08
My name is
David Coulthard
, I'm a former Grand Prix driver and I'm a big Max Verstappen
fan.Share
05:13
In my mind, the rivalry between
Max
and Lewis
is already a classic of the likes of Senna
- Prost
or Mansell
- Piquet
or whoever through the history of time is your particular era.Share
05:25
We are witnessing two incredible drivers with two teams that are world Championship teams. So this is a classic period of
Formula 1
.Share
Nick Bright
05:35
And 2021 was a season unlike any other before it.
Share
Jess McFadyen
05:39
Whether or not you were
Lewis
or Max
fan at the end of the, of the season. I think you just can't deny how close force it was and how... It was a real privilege to watch genuinely like regardless of how you feel about the outcome. I just, I don't think I've ever seen a season so close for.Share
Max Verstappen
05:58
To win, I mean, it was an insane season in general and basically you couldn't have written it even crazier for that final race, you know, so it pretty much sums up the whole season.
Share
Nick Bright
06:09
Despite the drama and all the last minute twists and turns Verstappen, who is still just 24 has shown he's ready willing and able to take on and beat a seven time
World Champion
and you could say he was born to race. Mom Sophie drove carts whilst dad was an F1
team mate of Michael Schumacher
, but staff and senior also raced against Britain's David Coulthard
.Share
David Coulthard
06:35
The absolute commitment that was carried in his DNA has been passed on to
Max
and I think that what the staff and family have done is work very hard to give him the best grounding through karting into cars and make great choices and positioned him now in a very happy place.Share
Nick Bright
06:54
And that hard work began early in
Max's
life. dad Jos
had him in and around engines whilst he was still in nappies as he and Max
discussed on Red Bull
Racing's podcast, Talking Bull.Share
Jos Verstappen
07:05
He was 4.5 when we first put him in, we did it for one day and then immediately bought on a bigger
Go-kart
.Share
Speaker 6
07:12
But what was that like sticking a 4.5 year old in a go kart and then just just watching him drive away, was that, was that a nerve-wracking moment?
Share
Jos Verstappen
07:18
Not really because I think he was about 2.5 he was driving on the quad bike. So he had a lot of, a lot of experience, he had experience with it speed, how to steer, you know, so you have, we did quite a lot of things already before before I put them in there.
Share
Nick Bright
07:34
And it was seven years old when you started competing?
Share
Jos Verstappen
07:37
Max
first race, at seven yeah.Share
Nick Bright
07:40
And how, how quickly did success come?
Share
Jos Verstappen
07:42
First race? Immediately we prepared him very well. He was racing against other mini juniors, and there could be 9 or 10 years old. So that's what he was competing again a lot all the boys.
Share
Max Verstappen
07:55
I think it's really important that you understand what's going on, I was always involved, let's say like that, looking at what my dad was doing and understanding what he was doing.
Share
Jos Verstappen
08:04
I think every year we rate where we're racing were winning championships, so I mean you do a lot of races but what I also really enjoyed is all the things around it, you know, together in the van towards the race, you know, the preparation, what you had to do before.
Share
08:18
Yeah, I miss it now, but at that moment I really enjoyed it. We did about 80-200.000 km a year every year, so we did that for 10 years I guess.
Share
08:28
So yeah, it was quite intense, let's say that.
Share
Nick Bright
08:32
After achieving success in karting,
Verstappen
made the jump to cars and F1
feeder series, Formula 3
and Max
immediately stood out according to his Red Bull
teammates and contemporaries, Alex Albon
and first friend and rival Pierre Gasly
.Share
Pierre Gasly
08:47
You know, we we grew up racing together in karting with a couple of fights on track but it was always you know at the always at the top like the fast kid that you know, you you you want to beat, you know, he's very very talented guy since he's very young, he's been always the case, you know it's been always fighting for the top positions.
Share
09:11
Is just a great competitor. You know his skills, you know his speed, I think it's very dedicated, you know, towards the goal that we all have in common, we will all want to be the best and yeah, I think it is obviously a friend because we grew up together and kind of spend some personal moment together but also like a great rival on track.
Share
Alexander Albon
09:37
Max
was straightaway, quick when he, when he joined the championship, he was aggressive back then as well, we didn't have any altercations, we were, we would never fight, there was always that mutual respect, but at the same time we were definitely rivals.Share
Nick Bright
09:51
With racing driver dad
Jos
guiding him, it wasn't long before the Verstappen name was once again being spoken about within the F1
Paddock, as F1
commentator Jess McFadyen remembers.Share
Jess McFadyen
10:03
I think with a lot of young drivers with famous fathers, especially in the world of
Formula 1
, there is this level of expectation, I think whenever F1
drivers have children there's that question that is put to them at every opportunity, will we be seeing them in a cart, will we be seeing them racing?Share
10:23
And oftentimes you get the answer of they want them to have their own world and in certain circumstances they actually want them to be as far away from the
Formula 1
world as as possible, but then you get the drivers that you feel like it was almost their birthrights to come up through the ranks and into the world of Formula 1
.Share
10:46
And in the case of of
Max
, he essentially grew up in Formula 1
paddocks, much like a lot of the other driver father-son pairings that we have in Formula 1
today. And I think it was almost an inevitability and with somebody like Jos Verstappen
as your father, very determined, very go-getter kind of attitude, I think It was only a matter of time before we would hear the name Verstappen again in Formula 1
.
Share
Nick Bright
11:15
News of
Max's
many victories in the junior categories soon reached Red Bull
and in august 2014, head of the team's driver development program, Helmut Marko
signed Verstappen up.Share
11:26
The teenager continued to impress, getting his first taste of an
F1
weekend when he took part in a free practice ahead of that year's Japanese Grand Prix.Share
11:35
Just seven months later, aged 17 years old, Verstappen was lining up at the season opening Australian Grand Prix for the
Toro Rosso
F1
team.Share
Max Verstappen
11:45
That was last week when we signed the deal. Yeah, I couldn't believe in the beginning, but yeah, I'm really, really happy at the moment.
Share
Nick Bright
11:54
F1's
youngest ever competitor, but also its least experienced Max
didn't even have his driver's license when he secured his first seat in motorsports top flight.Share
Max Verstappen
12:04
Always, you know, when somebody gets the
Formula 1
or whatever, everybody has an opinion, some said of course I was too young and at the time, I didn't even have my, my driving license, I mean they knew of course I was in Formula 1
.Share
12:18
The driving instructor, he was very strict, which was good. I mean, I was prepared, I had caps, t-shirts already, you know, in case somebody needed to be bribed, but he didn't take it.
Share
Nick Bright
12:28
But Verstappen's meteoric rise to the pinnacle of motor racing raised some questions.
Share
Jess McFadyen
12:33
Obviously there was a lot of criticism thrown rebels way, you know, he's too young, he shouldn't be stepping into
Toro Rosso
just yet he's, he's, you know, he jumped from Formula three to Formula 1
, which is just unheard of. There is a progression of ladder usually in on the way to Formula 1
and most drivers have taken that route and Max
didn't.Share
Alexander Albon
12:57
I thought, I mean, I was, I was in cars of that type, It was my third year in cars, anyone straight in. So I think initially it was always that thing of, is it too young? But you know, very quickly he established himself.
Share
David Coulthard
13:14
I'm a great believer. If you're good enough, you're old enough and if you're good enough, you're not too old. So, you know, sport has shown us that many times that age is no boundary to delivering, if you've got the talent and you've got the work ethic.
Share
Nick Bright
13:28
Drivers,
David Coulthard
and Alex Albon
remembering the moment Verstappen
signed for Toro Rosso.
In response, the FIA motorsports governing body issued the first of its so called "Verstappen rule".Share
Max Verstappen
13:40
And then it's quite funny when you think about after 2015, they did change the rules that you have to be at least 18 to start your your first reason in
Formula 1
. I think that's the best achievement. Ahaha.Share
Nick Bright
13:50
Thanks to
Max
nowadays, all drivers have to be 18 or over to step into an F1
race.Share
13:58
But back to 2015 when the then 17 year-old Verstappen was rewriting the rule book and any worries about
Max's
age were quickly eased by his performance. On his debut in Melbourne
the Dutchman was only denied world championship points by an engine failure later on.Share
14:16
A top 10 finish would quickly follow at the next race in
Malaysia
where he secured a stunning seventh place. This set the tone for a remarkable first season in F1
, which brought awards for rookie of the year, personality of the year and action of the year for an outrageous overtaking maneuver at blanche human, at the Belgian Grand Prix
. All of this has earned the step in a legion of fans around the world, but especially back in the Netherlands
.Share
Twan van Gendt
14:43
My name is
Twan Van Gendt
, I'm 29 years old, I'm a professional BMX
racer and current World Champion
. If you go to the local gas station, you're definitely gonna see something of Max
, It's just every single place in the Netherlands
and if you're watching TV and there is a commercial coming up 70% of the time you see Max
. I think 95% of the people of Holland know who Max Verstappen
is.Share
Nick Bright
15:13
But if the
Verstappen
debut season in F1
was defying the odds, it was nothing compared with what was to come in 2016, just four races into the calendar, Verstappen
got the call that would change his life.Share
Max Verstappen
15:26
The first few races I had that season, we're we're good, like it was all going quite well, we were getting some good results and I got a call from my dad first at home in Monaco and he was like
Max
, I think maybe there's a chance you you're driving for for Red Bull
the next race.Share
15:41
And I was like, "Well you're crazy like you're talking about, but I'm in
Toro Rosso
". And I didn't believe my dad, so he hung up and then of course at one point the helmet, I think it was on the Tuesday, he said you have to come to grads. So we went for lunch and you know, the hour went by and nothing was like why are we here? You know, there's nothing coming out.Share
16:01
And then Sunday I was like, "Oh, oh yeah, and by the way, next week you're driving for
Red Bull
, so get ready".Share
Jess McFadyen
16:10
The career of
Max Verstappen
has been one of shock and all the idea that they were going to demote one of their senior drivers in place of their youngest driver was again, quite shocking for a lot of people, it didn't feel like a good tactical move could Max
yet again, step up to the plate and deliver?Share
David Coulthard
16:31
It was a great opportunity. Why not? If you've got two teams and
Helmut Marko
and Red Bull
have shown an ability to back young talent and give them an opportunity and if they deliver, they have a great career in Formula 1
, if they don't deliver then you know, they go off and do something else.Share
Nick Bright
16:48
Having made the jump to
Red Bull's
senior team, F1's
youngest ever competitor soon became its youngest race winner, a victory that would make headlines in and out of the sport.Share
Max Verstappen
17:01
I also even started I think cramping a little bit with like five laps to go just because of the excitement and the focus. It was pretty crazy, like I was literally counting the laps at the end, there was a lot of pressure. My dad was getting so excited trying to raise that this nose started bleeding.
Share
17:16
Yeah, I can't even imagine how he was sitting in my driver room, you know, watching the final few laps and fall.
Share
17:21
Max
, you are a race winner. Fantastic. What a great debut.Share
Max Verstappen
17:27
Thank you very much Christian.
Share
Jess McFadyen
17:29
To make the step up into the senior team and not only make the step up but to win on your debut with the senior team, I think really epitomizes just the level of quality that
Max Verstappen
has.Share
David Coulthard
17:44
The circumstances of making a debut and winning the Grand Prix, we're just, you know, fairy tale type stuff.
Share
17:49
But what we all now know is it was just another day in the Verstappen race performance, the fact that he didn't know the car and the fact that, you know, there were so many other areas of of any experience he had, he seized the opportunity and I think that's what the greats do. They take an opportunity when it comes to them and they deliver to come straight in.
Share
18:09
I mean, I know how hard it is to jump into a
Formula 1
team that you don't know and it isn't easy, especially when you're young and you're still learning Formula 1 never mind a new team. So to win straight away was very impressive.Share
18:24
His winning his first race in Spain was like incredible. The race took forever to get the finish line and every lab just took too long. But at the end he brought it home and the whole country was just, it was like having a world championship soccer tournament and making the final. Yeah, good comparison of winning his first
Formula 1
race.Share
Nick Bright
18:49
Verstappen was now being mentioned in the same breath as world champions.
Sebastian Vettel
and Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen makes driving an F1
Car
look easy, is that really the case? Let's get the low down from his trainer and performance coach Brad Scanes.Share
Brad Scanes
19:03
I guess it's what Everyone who drives a
Formula 1
car training isn't, there isn't their main thing, they want to want to be in the car. They know that they need to do it and you know, Max
is very good at get his head down and doing it.Share
19:17
But yeah, it's, it's not his favorite thing. Yeah, I think the needles certainly shifting people are recognizing as in, is in any sport really. You look at football, you have to be an athlete before footballer these days. You look at basketball, you have to be an athlete before a basketball player.
Share
19:34
I don't think it will ever swing fully to
Formula 1
because you know, the car and the ability to drive is still the key thing, but people are slowly recognizing the importance a little bit more and you know, if your competitors doing it and they're getting benefits from it, then you need to be doing it as well.Share
Gianpiero Lambiase
19:51
There's a giant lizard on the track. Yeah, I'm not joking out of tree.
Share
19:56
Face to face with Godzilla then mate.
Share
Nick Bright
19:58
That's
Max's
longtime race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase
or GP for short, he's been with Verstappen since his very first race with Red Bull
.Share
David Coulthard
20:08
When we hear
Max
joking and laughing on the radio. The fact that he can joke, I think may confuse some people, but the fact you're doing 200 mph is not where your mind is focused on. Your mind is focused on a series of decisions and if you're on a circuit with 15 corners, you've got 15 decisions to make each minute and a half, it's actually not that much.Share
20:27
The bits in between the corners, there just time to hang out and enjoy the scenery, you know, it's not at all stressful and that's when he's able to compartmentalize where he is, what he's doing, what he would like to share with his engineer.
Share
Max Verstappen
20:42
If you come from like go karting and then you just jump into like a car and then you get initial messages, but I remember when I was in my first step one weekend, just listening through all of them, it was quite a lot like initials like wow, there's a lot of information you are giving the driver all the time, but over time of course you get used to it.
Share
Nick Bright
21:03
His relaxed attitude on track is mirrored off it according to former
Red Bull
teammate Alex Albon
.Share
Alexander Albon
21:09
You know, he's got a lot of self confidence which which you need but but not arrogance. There's times when he's going, it's time for qualifying or practice three or whatever and you know, I'm getting, I was getting ready, looking at data and whatever and he's playing
FIFA
or playing Call of Duty
so he can be, yeah, I mean I admire it, I wish I could be that relaxed, but you know, it's whatever works for you.Share
Nick Bright
21:37
Over his 15 seasons in
F1
X driver, David Coulthard
experienced for himself, how difficult it is to make driving at speeds of 200 MPH look effortless.Share
David Coulthard
21:49
There's always going to be analysis of different sports people's approach and and whether some are more, you know,
Federer-style
sort of effortless in in the way they seem to deliver what they do on court versus Nadal
that looks a lot more physical, looks a lot more aggressive in the way he plays his tennis.Share
22:13
But clearly the two of them in at the peak of their form are, you know, two of the world's best and I use tennis rather than racing because you physically see the individuals, you see their physical form, you see their approach to how they move around the court and you see they're heading of the ball, which a lot of what is involved in driving a racing car is hidden that nobody sees their feet dancing on the pedals when they're in the cockpit.
Share
22:37
But one thing that
Max
has mentioned to me in the past is he doesn't run his seat belts particularly tight. And the fact that he has the confidence to be free in the car, I find quite remarkable. You know, I wanted to be bolted to the car. I didn't want to move.Share
22:52
The fact that somehow he was able to feel relaxed in a, in a looser connection to the car I think is is very interesting, you know, one's
Federer
and Nadal
, they have different ways of presenting themselves to the ball and in the end what is absolutely clear is that when they do come together with a race car, the exploit the performance, they understand the physics, they understand the chemistry of the tires, interaction with the tarmac, and they understand how to exploit all of that to their benefit.Share
Nick Bright
23:23
Despite his laid back approach to racing as his years in
F1
go by Verstappen continues to deliver more points, more podiums and more race wins would follow, battling it out at the front of the grid, giving no quarter. The ultimate competitor.Share
Jess McFadyen
23:40
Max's
driving style, wow. I think he is very, he's very sure of himself and of the, especially this season, the car he's got underneath him, he has a lot of, a lot of trust and a lot of faith in getting the moves done, but you know, without apology.Share
23:58
And we've seen that in a lot of previous champions, you know,
Michael Schumacher
had very similar comments made about his driving style, you know, that absolute and utter dedication to two moves, but also to his position out on track, he doesn't give in, he doesn't let other people around him easily. He will fight for everything.Share
Nick Bright
24:23
Max
was keen to show the grid that despite his years, he's no pushover, but in doing so as Jess McFadyen
explains his driving would sometimes draw praise and criticism in equal measure.Share
Jess McFadyen
24:35
As much as he showed his prowess and his speed out on track. He did make a lot of mistakes and could very quickly get hotheaded and I think again, there were these question marks around, can he put that to one side? Because in order to be a World Champion, you need to be able to keep a clean head and to not get involved in silly mistakes.
Share
Nick Bright
25:00
David Coulthard
knows what it takes to win a Grand Prix, he also knows that a career in F1
takes time to build.Share
David Coulthard
25:06
What was clear is that he was always going to like a puppy, like any young driver, he was going to pee on the carpet occasionally, but what was also clear is he had great speed and great Adaptability and it was very clear he was very talented.
Share
25:22
He has dominated his teammates since he's been established in
Formula 1
and I think that, you know, it takes every driver to three seasons to get fully established what you see in the first season, raw speed and ability and and that was something that was clear when he was in Toro Rosso
.Share
Nick Bright
25:40
With multiple race, wins under his belt, Verstappen is becoming someone that many drivers now look up to people like
Red Bull
Junior driver Liam Lawson
.Share
Liam Lawson
25:49
It's crazy because he's still so young, but He's in his like 7th season of
Formula 1
. So yeah, I think it's just the experiences you spend more time you get, You learn more and more. Yeah, I think he's still, he's still got all that, you know, row speed, the aggression that he had when he first came to F1
that was sort of his stand out. But he's got everything else or everything else coming with it now as well.Share
Nick Bright
26:11
Fast forward to the present, and his newfound maturity on track, coupled with
Max's
natural talent has taken Verstappen to a new level of performance, where he's been able to consistently challenge the best of the best.Share
David Coulthard
26:24
The thing for me that really separates the great from the good is speed and it would seem such an obvious thing. But very few, very fast racing drivers, I have not gone on to very high levels of success. If you look at it and Michael,
Lewis
, [...] any of the greats over the period, they have been able to exploit the performance of the car consistently over the course of the year.Share
26:52
You know, if I look at my own career, I could have peaks of performance, but I also had the, the drops in performance where for no reason that I could fully understand, I couldn't get the car talking to me and on those occasions I couldn't deliver the speed. People like
Max
very, very rarely have a bad day.Share
27:12
I just don't remember a day where he just didn't look like he could get the car working for him. I think he's got an ability to accept, that's what he's got. And he's a driver that you you don't want to take your eyes off when he goes out on track and you know, he's going to do something special talent.
Share
Pierre Gasly
27:30
I think he has a very good understanding of the limit, but also seems to no feel things in certain ways which can make a driver uncomfortable when he's driving.
Share
27:49
For instance, with the wind or instability in the car, he seems to be able to switch off his brain when it comes to that side to racing. And I think that's something which if you speak to any of his teammates, including myself, it's something where yeah, he seems to be able to drive very difficult car in some circumstances.
Share
David Coulthard
28:10
So a lot of people will always try and distinguish between car and driver performance and the reality of course, is the most important thing in the first instance of the car because without a good car, it doesn't matter who you are. But once you have delivered that car, then you just look at the performances from teammates and
Lewis
has consistently dominated his teammates, even if he hasn't beaten them all the time.Share
28:33
You know, he, over the course of a season or, you know, during a period of time with the teammate, he has been the stronger likewise with
Max
. So I think that it is pointless trying to separate because they are one and the same without the machine, the man of the human can perform and without human, the car is just a piece of engineering art.Share
Alexander Albon
28:55
I mean, again, it could all be media, it could all be rubbish, but I think
Mercedes
and then that they've had to obviously go into second gear a little bit and focus on the championship a bit more than they've had to before and it's more Lewis
that has had to, to to look for a little bit extra rather than Max
.Share
Speaker 14
29:11
Honestly speaking, the media absolutely love to make this story about Lewis and him and it's a complete load of rubbish between them too. There's a lot of respect there and at the same time
Max
truly doesn't care about what goes on, you know, with all the comments or whatever like that, he's, he's there to perform and he's pretty unfazed by the whole situation.Share
Jess McFadyen
29:37
These two drivers recognize the talent in each other, they recognize that fighting style, they are racist at their very, very cool and I think, you know, we want to see them battling out on track, we want to see them going wheel to wheel and have it be that close week in, week out.
Share
29:57
Is it going to be a classic rivalry? I think that if we can keep this level of competitiveness between the two kind of greats of the 2021 season as it were. It is definitely gonna go down in history.
Share
David Coulthard
30:10
In 2021 has been a fantastic season for
Formula 1
. It has seen two rival teams and two rival drivers at the top of their game going wheel to wheel. When we've had these titanic battles in the past, then they might come along once a decade.Share
30:25
It might even be once every 20 years. But when it happens, it is, a it's a wonderful Thing as a race fan to be able to witness two grades to people that are moving the dial in terms of what's possible as a driver go toe to toe. So, this is a classic period of
Formula 1
.Share
Nick Bright
30:43
It's a coming of age that's been years in the making.
Share
Max Verstappen
30:46
There was a World Championship Race 2012. I crashed and... no world championships. So I was of course upset. But my dad was really, really upset and disappointed. I had to pick up the cocoa with a friend of mine on the track after the race'cause my dad said I had to do it myself.
Share
31:04
But I wanted to talk to my dad about what happened, about my opinion about the incident. But my dad didn't want to talk to me. So I kept trying and at one point he said like, "Get out!"
Share
31:14
Like here at the field, you stopped at the fuel station. He's like, "Get out. I don't want to talk to you anymore". So, yeah, I stood there...
Share
Jos Verstappen
31:23
I knew that his mom was a few kilometers behind us. So... it's not that I was leaving him there on his own 2000 km away.
Share
Max Verstappen
31:31
Well you came back anyway, so.
Share
Jos Verstappen
31:33
It was all right.
Share
Nick Bright
31:35
And all of this with one goal to be the best.
Share
Jos Verstappen
31:39
That's why we are here, you know, and we're very happy where we are. But at the end of the day we want to win the world championship, that's why we're here for.
Share
Nick Bright
31:49
And in 2021 that championship winning dream has become a reality.
Share
31:54
But for
Max
to realize his dream and win a world championship, he first had to overcome the mighty Mercedes
and Lewis Hamilton's
one final time and it all came down to the last race of the calendar in Abu Dhabi
Verstappen on pole but a poor start allowed Hamilton
to take the lead of the race where he stayed looking comfortable until a few laps from the end, an incident back in the field brings out the safety car a chance to pick but will he a third pit stop, he changes to new soft compounds and suddenly he has a chance.Share
Max Verstappen
32:32
I was like this is my chance, I have to go for it and that's what we did.
Share
Jess McFadyen
32:35
The radio messages that we heard just I mean we didn't hear anything because it was just completely bleeped out but in in relief I think I think it just felt very much like a breathing out.
Share
32:48
I mean the the tension between
Mercedes
and Red Bull
this year between Max
and louis between Toto and Christian have been at fever pitch for such a long time that it wasn't, it was almost like an outpouring of relief and elation that they almost couldn't believe that it had actually happened.Share
33:09
It's amazing! I think it's one of my favorite favorite times is when you when you see the driver become the World Champion, it's it's the epitome of what we're doing. It's the entire reason we race, it's the entire reason these these drivers race. So it's always such a wonderful emotive time.
Share
Nick Bright
33:27
Victory tastes sweet for the step in.
Share
Max Verstappen
33:30
I think it was a real relief for everyone, you know, of course, with the outcome, but in general, throughout the whole season has been so busy and you know, to have, you know, this kind of celebration altogether. It's just really it was really special. Really amazing.
Share
33:43
Everyone's screaming on the radio. Of course, everyone's super emotional, not thinking it would happen initially and then, and I was crying on the end, you know, there's no hiding about it, but it was just insane.
Share
33:55
The whole lab. I couldn't believe it just the stress of the whole season, of course, the whole battle and then it seems like it looked like it was of course not going your way and then suddenly it turns around in a crazy fashion and and then it does come your way. I mean it couldn't have been more dramatic. So yeah.
Share
Nick Bright
34:13
Crowning their first ever F1 World Champion means everything to the staples, loyal Dutch fans who follow
Max
wherever he races. Turning entire grandstands into seas of orange and chanting his name in scenes reminiscent of a football match rather than an F1
race. And amongst that Orange army you'll find BMX World Champion Twan Van Gendt
.Share
Twan van Gendt
34:36
It's the Dutch way of supporting. If I look at all the years of soccer in the past, it's quite the same like coming together and watch, watch the soccer match of watch much for stopping. It's like at the same level almost these days.
Share
Jess McFadyen
34:53
I mean the Dutch fans, they were just waiting for them to have a driver that they could fully get behind most
F1
fans, they turn up with a tent and you know the camp out and it's all quite civilized, but they turn up in literal HDTVs with jacuzzis in the back and double beds and like they are there to party.Share
35:15
So as soon as
Max Verstappen
, their Dutch hero arrived on the scene as competitive as he was. I mean it's what F1 needs, it happens in other sports. So the fact that these Dutch fans, this Dutch army have a hero to get behind. I think that was all that they were missing really from Formula 1
.Share
David Coulthard
35:32
This is a nation and in that respect, he carries the mood of the nation in his hands.
Share
35:40
10 race wins, 10 pole positions, 6 fastest laps. Incredible stats for
Max
in F1's
longest and perhaps also its greatest season.Share
Jess McFadyen
35:53
Unforgettable, unpredictable, historical, I think we we won't forget this right this season ever. And I think it's going to be one that for multiple different reasons, will probably shape
Formula 1
moving forward and it's going to have such a long lasting effect.Share
36:15
I think that it's it's going to be one that I think when we look back on in years to come, those of us that were there and witnessed it, you know, whether you're at home or you're at the track is going to be one that that's the that's going to be the one that sticks out, that's going to be the one that that you will fondly or otherwise go that was the season.
Share
36:39
And yeah, for me, having been there and witnessed it live is just something I'll never forget.
Share
Nick Bright
36:47
And when the dust settles on 2021, this world championship will be remembered for a shining star who lit up the sport.
Share
Max Verstappen
36:55
I just want to be myself and I want to be remembered by someone who didn't change and just always, you know, have been himself, just the the real
Max
and always be straightforward. Yeah, and like honest person.Share
Jess McFadyen
37:11
He's such a magic talent and you know, we talk about generational drivers, you get you get certain superstars every generation and he is one of them. He he will be remembered as one of the, as one of the best
Formula 1
drivers of his age marks for stopping is what makes us really proud.Share
Jos Verstappen
37:31
We're just like a small country with not too many people, we can compete at the highest level.
Share
Max Verstappen
37:38
I know quitting has never been an option. I'm just happy to be in the sport and hopefully I can do this for many more years.
Share
37:47
But of course, you also need a bit of luck to, to win multiple titles, you know, but for me, everything now when the phone has been achieved already, so everything what comes now is a, is a bonus.
Share
Nick Bright
37:57
That's all from this episode of beyond the ordinary. If you enjoyed what you've heard, don't forget to follow this series wherever you get your podcasts and for more content featuring
Max Verstappen
and Red Bull
racing.Share
38:11
Head to Talking Ball, the official
Red Bull
racing podcast on all major audio platforms bringing you exclusive and unrivaled access to the Red Bull
Racing Formula 1
team.Share
38:22
And you can follow
Max
and the Red Bull
Racing
team on all your favorite social media platforms. I'm Nick Bright
, thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time.Share
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🇮🇹 Made with love & passion in Italy. 🌎 Enjoyed everywhere
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Nick Bright
Max Verstappen
Jess McFadyen
David Coulthard
Jos Verstappen
Pierre Gasly
Alexander Albon
Twan van Gendt
Brad Scanes
Gianpiero Lambiase