Max Verstappen’s F1 mastery comes to surface after David Coulthard’s RB7 lap at Imola

Competing against a four-time world champion like Max Verstappen will inevitably expose any shortcomings, and David Coulthard experienced this firsthand during a lap in Imola two years ago. The 54-year-old recently detailed how he found himself well off the pace during a session around the iconic Italian circuit.

Coulthard, who recently appeared on the Indo Sports Podcast, touched on how the physical demands of racing in Formula 1 could largely impact the results one achieves behind the wheel. A former Red Bull Racing driver detailed how an average individual will struggle to match the precision and speed drivers achieve while racing.

When asked about whether the average person could complete 10 laps in an F1 car, Coutlthard shared a telling anecdote involving Max Verstappen. He said (quotes via PlanetF1):

“And that’s being incredibly kind. And when I say the average person, that includes me nowadays! Two years ago, I did a filming for a little feature where we were at Imola and I went around the track in the RB7, which would have been the Sebastian Vettel V8 World Championship car.”

“I did one timed lap, on a track that I’ve won the grand prix in ’98, and then Max jumped in the car and he did one flying lap. I was five seconds slower. Now I was actually reasonably happy with that, because I hadn’t been around Imola for more than a decade or more,” he added.

Indeed, driving a Formula 1 car is often challenging from an operational standpoint, but tackling circuits with steep elevation changes and punishing chicanes takes the challenge to another level. Coulthard’s remark serves as a reminder of the extraordinary physical and technical skills required to compete at motorsports' highest level.

Max Verstappen speaks on the physical demands of Formula 1

Max Verstappen once opened up about the physical challenges a driver faces during a race. The Dutch driver, who has continued to etch his name into the storied history of the sport, highlighted what he considers the worst thing a driver could experience behind the wheel of an F1 car.

The Red Bull Racing driver who spoke to Via Play in 2023 touched on how drivers had often complained about the physical demands racing an F1 car requires. This question was put to Max Verstappen, off the back of 2021 Formula E champion, Nyck de Vries, telling his race engineer on the radio he would require help to get out of his car following his F1 debut with the Williams Racing outfit.

Max Verstappen highlighted how the part of maintaining control of the neck through a race could prove to be the most challenging of tasks a driver faces behind the wheel. He said (quotes via PlanetF1):

“For me, the worst is if you cannot hold up your neck, your head, if you are struggling a lot with your neck, that is the worst. The rest you can compensate a bit, but if you're going through a corner and your head [feels like it is] falling off, that is very tough."

Despite the rigorous training routines F1 drivers undergo to keep their neck muscles strong enough to withstand the G force experienced during races, sometimes a few drivers, like Kevin Magnussen, have experienced severe neck issues.