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Max Verstappen has admitted that he is already prepared for the 2022 F1 Dutch GP later this weekend, even before leaving the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
The Dutchman dominated the entire 2022 F1 Belgian GP weekend with a Red Bull RB18 that he described as a rocket. Verstappen started the race in P14 and was up in P8 after a chaotic opening lap that saw Lewis Hamilton retire after an incident with Fernando Alonso.
Verstappen cut through the field like a hot knife through butter to take the lead in the race from Carlos Sainz even before reaching half-distance. The 24-year-old sped away to cross the line almost 18 seconds ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez, who helped secure Red Bull's fourth one-two finish of the season.
Next up for the reigning world champion is a trip back home to race at the Circuit Zandvoort in front of an adoring Dutch crowd and Max Verstappen has done his homework in advance.
Speaking in a post-race press conference after his win at the 2022 F1 Belgian GP, he elaborated on the difference between driving at Spa-Francorchamps and Zandvoort. Max Verstappen said:
“To be honest, I already prepared Zandvoort. I am of course enjoying today but then I go home and I don’t really think about F1 too much. And then I jump on the plane on Thursday morning, I think, and then I’ll think about Zandvoort, and then I’ll drive Zandvoort and try to do the best I can. But yeah, for the moment, I did all my work already to prepare in the best way possible on the simulator, what we think is right and everything felt quite decent. But again, we put the car on the track on Friday and we’ll find out.”
Max Verstappen has not changed much despite being one of the Netherlands' highest paid athletes, claims Dr. Helmut Marko
Max Verstappen has not let fame or fortune change his personality one bit, according to Dr. Helmut Marko.
Marko is a retired Austrian racing driver now plying his trade as an advisor to the Red Bull team. He is also in charge of their world-class junior drivers' program, which has given us the likes of Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen, and Carlos Sainz among others.
The veteran feels Max Verstappen has had to undergo a difficult transition to grow as an F1 driver and become the force he is now. Marko gave the Dutchman his first F1 outing during a Free Practice session at the 2014 Japanese GP weekend, where Verstappen impressed everyone at the age of 15. He then signed to drive with Scuderia Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri) in 2015.
The following year, Verstappen was promoted to the Red Bull team to replace Daniil Kyvat. He then won the 2016 F1 Spanish GP on his debut to become the youngest winner in F1 and has not looked back since.
In an interview with Formule1.nl in the Netherlands ahead of the 2022 F1 Belgian GP, Marko opened up about signing Verstappen as a teenager and watching him evolve into a world champion. The 79-year-old said:
“At 16 he signed his first Formula One contract. It was clear that he had to grow as a personality. I mean, he was still a kid and you still had the preponderance of Jos [Verstappen, Max’s father] at the time. But that actually developed in parallel: the more independent Max became, the more Jos withdrew. In the beginning, this was not always an easy process. Max had two technical briefings: first with the team and then with Jos... It’s clear that something like that can’t go on.”
The 24-year-old has now signed a massive contract with Red Bull that runs until the end of 2028 and has also raked in multiple high-profile sponsorship deals. The Austrian also touched on how Verstappen has not let his superstardom affect him even slightly, adding:
“He developed his own opinion relatively quickly and expressed himself very clearly in interviews. He is a Verstappen, isn’t he? If something doesn’t suit him, he’ll say so. Sometimes, like in Mexico with the stewards, that hasn’t always helped us. But that’s how we are. Max is now 24 and one of the best-earning athletes in the Netherlands, but that hasn’t changed him one bit. He lives his own life and has become calmer after his first world title.”
As things stand, Max Verstappen appears to hold an unassailable lead at the top of the World Drivers' Championship standings and looks destined to claim his second title with races to spare in 2022.
