Max Verstappen is undoubtedly the most sought-after driver in Formula 1 right now. He now has three world championships to his name and has won 54 races at the age of just 26. Now, Adrian Newey has revealed the added advantage that Verstappen has over his competitors that gives him the edge.
Speaking about this, Newey, who has worked with drivers like Ayrton Senna and Sebastian Vettel in the past, said in an exclusive interview with Motorsport, “I think Max, like all the truly great drivers, you have the impression that he can drive the car almost sub-consciously. And that then leaves him with plenty of processing power to think about what the car is doing.”
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) December 9, 2023
The Dutchman would provide constant feedback to improve his car and only talk about the technicalities that would see him perform better. This was something even Lorenz Frey-Hilti pointed out when Verstappen was in Portimao testing for them recently.
This incredible knack for performance allowed the 26-year-old to win 19 out of the 22 races in 2023. However, it is pertinent to note that it was not just Verstappen’s talent, but also Newey’s designs that helped him achieve greatness by claiming three F1 world titles.
Other than speaking about Verstappen’s talents, Newey then also discussed about the experience of working alongside the Dutchman.
Adrian Newey enjoys working with Max Verstappen
When asked in the interview regarding the feeling of working with Max Verstappen, Adrian Newey shared a positive response. The veteran Red Bull engineer said that the defending champion is very demanding.
However, Newey also added that it is easy to work with the Red Bull driver and his feedback on the car is spot-on and simple to understand. Furthermore, Verstappen also takes charge of modifying his driving to suit the car, changing the set-up via electronic tools, etc. to maximize his performance.
This is the perfect way to end our extraordinary season I’m extremely grateful for all of the hard work that’s gone into this year by each and everyone of you involved @redbullracing & @HondaRacingGLB To win 19 races in a season is just incredible It’s a privilege to be… pic.twitter.com/vOkhVPyD0k
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) November 26, 2023
Therefore, the Dutchman helps his engineers to focus only on performance, and among them, Gianpiero Lambiase plays the biggest part. Newey revealed that Verstappen lets Lambiase know about his demands for the car and he trusts that the 43-year-old would come up with a solution.
As things stand, Verstappen is very much poised to take his fourth F1 title in 2024 and increase the tally of his race wins. This is simply because the RB20 is expected to be massively overpowered compared to its rivals.
