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Max Verstappen reveals fascinating driver management approach
Max Verstappen has revealed his fascinating approach to driver
management, with the four-time world champion overseeing several
drivers as part of his GT team and Team Redline, the simulator
outfit with which he has a close partnership. A day off is a rarity
for Verstappen, who, when he is not racing in Formula 1, is either
competing in GT machinery, racing on a simulator, or managing
Verstappen.com Racing. It is one of the fastest-rising GT teams,
with Verstappen heavily involved in the management of its younger
drivers, one of whom he revealed has been signed from a simulator
background. Verstappen’s approach to managing his drivers is based
on the belief that improvement is always possible, with him making
it clear that even after a victory for Red Bull in F1, he still
assesses a Grand Prix to see what he could have done better. For
the 28-year-old, he wants his young drivers to have the mentality
of always wanting to "find more" performance, whether that comes
from themselves, the team, or their rivals. Asked what advice he
gives to the drivers he manages, Verstappen told the Pirelli Box
Box Box podcast: "Oh, this can be a lot of different things. In
general, you’re working with drivers who are just a lot more
inexperienced, right? Now this year, for example, is the first year
that I brought one of my sim drivers into the real world, so it’s a
big learning curve. "But at the same time, we entered knowing — I
said, I know this is a learning year, but we still compare
ourselves with the best. We don’t go in there and just accept that
P10 is a great result, for example. We still always look back at
the weekend, comparing ourselves to the best, because that’s the
target. That’s where we need to work towards, right? That’s, of
course, working towards how the drivers are, how the teams are
operating. "Of course, we take our class wins here and there; it’s
nice. It’s a good little boost for the drivers as well. But yeah,
after every weekend, you come back and analyse the things that can
still be done better, even when you think you had a good weekend.
And that’s always, I think, what I try to tell them: you can have a
good weekend, you can feel happy with yourself, but you always have
to look at things you can improve. "Because even if I win in
Formula 1, yes, it’s a great weekend, but there are always things
you look at and think, if we tried this or did that, would it have
made a difference? How can we find more? You never stop learning.
You always want to be better, basically, and that’s what I apply to
the drivers, and to the team in general. When you think, ‘Oh, I’m
happy with the car, we did a great job,’ sure — but how can you
find more?"
