Max Verstappen was promoted to Red Bull after just four races in 2016, despite only having one year of experience before that. The three-time F1 world champion reveals he was expected to go the following year.
“This promotion to the main team was already set for the following year, for 2017” revealed Verstappen in the documentary “10 Years of Max Verstappen”. “The fact that it came in 2016 was only a good thing.”
The Dutchman remembers being called to Austria to see Helmut Marko, then to Milton Keynes to prepare: “It was also a kind of relief when they told me the day after the race in Sochi that I had to go first to Graz, to Helmut Marko, and then to the factory in England.”
A courageous decision rewarded by Red Bull with a victory in his first race with the team: “This start went very well, because there were still people who had doubts.”
“But then I won that race, even though there was a bit of luck. But it’s still good to show that. The following weekend in Monaco didn’t go well, but when you won the race before that, that’s what people remember.”
His next period of doubt arrived at the beginning of 2018, when he made a series of errors and poor performances, to the point of threatening journalists who asked him what was wrong with his driving.
“At that moment, I was really angry. At some point, enough is enough. I know I made mistakes at that moment. But you can’t keep complaining. Because At that point, I really almost headbutted someone.”
Now Max Verstappen has been driving with a Honda engine at Red Bull for a long time now. After highs and lows, their parternership is about to end after 2025, as Red Bull will create their own engines together with Ford, while Honda will team up with Aston Martin. The Dutchman praised the Japanese engine provider.
And the following year, Honda joined the Red Bull project: “I was very excited myself when Helmut told me that Honda was coming. It gave new energy to the team.”
“We toured Japan, on the Sakura. There, we saw that the potential was really there. All we had to do was find a few people to carry out the whole project. In the end , everything went well.”
He recalls it being a huge relief for Honda, after four difficult seasons with McLaren F1 and Toro Rosso, to finally find the path to victory: “The very first victory was very emotional for them. They were just complaining in the garage.”
“For them, of course, it’s a great satisfaction, because they had a very difficult start when they came back to Formula 1. But they never gave up. I think that’s also typical of the Japanese mentality .”
Despite the imminent end of their partnership, Verstappen remembers his time at Honda fondly: “They will never give up and sometimes Europeans can really learn something from this.”
“It’s also nice to see with engineers, for example. You work with a lot of different cultures and it works. I really enjoy being part of this team.”
