Many questioned Max Verstappen’s maturity when he first started racing in F1 at 17 years old. However, the Dutchman has shown immense growth over his decade-long journey, both on and off the track. The Verstappen who speaks and races today has evolved and learned from his mistakes, but when asked whether he would like to pass on this wisdom to his younger self, Verstappen surprisingly refused to do so.
Verstappen’s friends asked him the cliched question about advising his younger self while streaming on Twitch. The Red Bull driver replied that not making the mistakes he made when he was younger would not have allowed him to become the person he is today
“Honestly, I wouldn’t give any advice cause at the end of the day you have to make mistakes in life, you have to learn it the hard way sometimes,” the 27-year-old said. He doesn’t feel knowing everything about the future difficulties in advance helps anyone. Verstappen feels it is “boring”.
“what advice would you give to your younger self?”
max: “honestly i wouldn’t give any advice cause at the end of the day you have to make mistakes in life, you have to learn it the hard way sometimes. if you knew everything in advance that would be very boring. once you’ve… pic.twitter.com/6SIkHcLJ6s
— nini (@SCUDERIAFEMBOY) January 18, 2025
Now, this tough mindset could be a result of his father Jos’ strict upbringing. There have been several anecdotes about the former F1 driver treating his son quite harshly whenever he did not do well in karting races.
The most infamous incident was from when Jos left Max at a gas station for making an error in the closing stages of a race that reportedly cost him the championship. Many criticized the 52-year-old for such a parenting approach but Max himself didn’t feel strongly about it.
In fact, he claimed that it helped him become the talented racer he is today, instilling a never-give-up attitude and a winning mindset. Even Helmut Marko can attest to his resolve.
When Marko saw Verstappen’s relentless attitude
Verstappen’s journey to F1 was quite rapid, as he had only one season of junior Formula experience before jumping into F1 cars. In 2014, during a race at Norisring (F3), Marko first interacted with him and understood the winners’ mindset he possessed.
The Red Bull advisor asked him whether he raced aggressively because of his father or if he intended to adopt that approach for the long term. Marko recalled Verstappen’s response and highlighted how pleasantly surprised he was by it.
“No, I really enjoy racing. And it’s completely my choice. My only concern is to continue as best I can and avoid the mistakes my father made,” Marko quoted the Dutch youngster, per RacingNews365.
The Austrian felt that even then, Verstappen was quite “mature” and “formidable” in his mentality. Fast forward to 2025, and the four-time world champion has certainly proven last season how much he has grown since his early days in the sport.
