Max Verstappen started karting when he was four years old. His father, Jos Verstappen, a former F1 driver knew what it took to become an F1 champion and coached his son to become one. Now, Verstappen has stepped into his father’s shoes and is coaching the young Dutchman Thierry Vermeulen, who races in the DTM.
“I’m there to coach him, I’m there to help him. He sees the data, he sees what I’m doing differently to him. It’s all about processing and learning”, said Verstappen.
Behind the scenes with Max coaching Thierry Vermeulen in DTM: “I’m there to coach him, I’m there to help him. He sees the data, he sees what I’m doing differently to him. It’s all about processing and learning”
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Vermeulen is a 22-year-old and represents Verstappen.com in the DTM and GT World Challenge Sprint (GTWC). The Dutchman drives for Emil Frey Racing in the Ferrari 296 GT3. In a video on Reddit, it can be seen that Verstappen is following the live-action as Vermeulen takes his Ferrari around the track.
After the race, Verstappen video calls Vermeulen to discuss where things went south for the youngster. The young Dutchman tells Verstappen how the last two tire sets were tricky on the track. The Red Bull driver responds as to how the nature and tarmac of the track lead to the tires feeling that way. The two then discuss tire pressure and the colder track temperatures.
Verstappen concludes the video call and asks Vermeulen to take the learning from that session as a lesson for the future.
Vermeulen and Verstappen tested the Ferrari 296 GT3 together
Rookie drivers are often paired with experienced drivers in most motorsport categories. The veteran grooms the rookie and eases him into the complexities of the sport. There is only so much one can learn by themselves. In Vermeulen’s case, Verstappen stepped up to help him as he struggled with the car.
“We had a test at Mugello together with Max, and there we worked on my confidence and helped the team move in the right direction. After all, who can do that better than Max Verstappen? We made a lot of progress there with the car, and took some big steps in the right direction”, said Vermeulen according to Verstappen.com.
Vermeulen didn’t have the right balance with the car at the start of the season. However, after the test with Verstappen, the young driver went on to finish a dozen times in the top 10 along with three podiums at the GTWC.
