Anyone who has watched F1 recently won’t fail to identify Max Verstappen. The Dutchman’s domination in the sport in recent years has put his name in the GOAT debate. Perhaps, someday, the driver might break Michael Schumacher’s record of 7 titles.
Fans of the sport might think Verstappen is nothing but a ruthless, cold-hearted racer with nothing but winning in his mind. The driver has no tolerance for losing or even finishing 2nd in a race.
However, two F1 fans got a firsthand experience of what the Dutchman looks like in real life. According to them, the 2x world champion is rather sweet and innocent than the aggressive F1 driver he is painted out to be.
Max Verstappen a different man in real life
Dax Shepard and Charlie Curtis, hosts of the ‘Eff won with DRS’ podcast visited the paddock during the 2023 Miami GP. The duo met renowned personalities in the sport, including the defending world champion Max Verstappen.
They spotted the Dutchman chatting with a mechanic in the Red Bull garage. According to Charlie, the driver had a simple and welcoming aura, much different than what is portrayed on TV.
The podcaster exposed Verstappen. “(Max Verstappen) seems so sweet and innocent and young, like a small child in there with all grown men as mechanics. He was talking to a guy who is 65 and he looks out of place. He looks so mellow, almost fragile.”
Sheppard added, “On TV he looks so dominating, like a borderline brat. But in person, he looks like a 25-year-old kid right there. He is like a 16-18-year-old and is really shy.” This shows how different drivers are in real life, from what Netflix or the media shows.
Verstappen received a 3/10 for relations with the media
Max Verstappen was rated by Italian journalist Carlo Vanzini on different parameters of race craft. The Italian gave the Dutchman a 3 out of 10 for his relations with the press on race weekends.
Vanzini described the 2x champion for being expressionless during his initial days in F1. He shared “Max is an iceman. I was impressed by this little boy who was always like this. Nothing. Zero heartbeats“.
Max Verstappen vs media staff in the paddock🤭
Carlo Vanzini gives him 3/4 out of 10 as a vote for his friendliness😈 pic.twitter.com/PV4Zd3ztWj— tati ☁️ charles leclerc 🏎 (@f1tati) May 16, 2023
The journalist claimed Daniel Ricciardo would flip the finger and Fernando Alonso would make a near pass. However, the Red Bull driver remained still. Vanzini believes the driver is a nice guy when not in the eyes of the media and has improved over the years.
Verstappen has had rocky relations with the media on several occasions. The Dutchman claims he was shown as a villain when he challenged Lewis Hamilton for the title in 2021. He even boycotted appearing in Netflix’s ‘Drive To Survive’ due to not liking the show’s over-dramatization of events.
