Max Verstappentwo-time F1 world champion, is the star of one of GQ magazine’s Men of the Year issues, which highlights athletes, actors, designers, directors, musicians, television creators, and more more men and women promoting culture around the world in 2022. And in the interview he gave, he was honest about his father’s role in construction and education as a pilot, his return to Netflix’s Drive to Survive or about Michael Jordan.
In the role of his father, former F1 driver Jos Verstappen, as a coach highlights that: “I keep playing and having a lot of fun, but I also have to understand that what we are doing is something serious, because we are working to achieve something,” he said. “Of course, from 7 to 11 years old, it got a bit intense, but he wanted me to be there to see what he was doing… I would see him take everything off the kart and put it back on, so that I would understand the mechanics behind it. All these kinds of things that he was trying to explain to me because he wanted me to understand that it wasn’t a joke, that we weren’t here to have fun. Because we’re working to try and go to the top.”
Max remembers that this attitude marked the difference between him and his competitors. “I was much more involved in everything, I took it in a more professional way. And that came from my father. If it wasn’t for him, I’d be outside playing and having fun. I need that stability.”
however, José left a rather agitated wake in his wake. In addition to alleged attacks or violence on his part, on and off the track, Jos also maintains a goal that permeated his relationship with Verstappen during their karting days. In the last race of the 2012 season, Jos built the best car, and the question is not if Max will win the last race of the season, but by how much. Max started slow and had to pass the leader, but he followed him too fast and too aggressively and ended up crashing. “Basically, I screwed up,” he says reflectively.
On the drive home after the race, Verstappen goes on and on about his mistake and Jos is so angry that he drops him off at a nearby gas station. Jos returned to pick up Verstappen, but didn’t speak to him again for a week. “He didn’t talk to me for a week. He was so angry that he couldn’t talk to me. I felt terrible. But it also helped me a lot, because I thought more about how the result of a race can affect you and how to handle them better. You have to be more patient.”
“I know it’s scary. Sure there are people who can’t handle that kind of behavior, but I need it. I think he has the kind of character that needs that kind of treatment.” explained Verstappen.
The Formula 1 star is missing out on one of F1’s most important marketing tools, the Netflix documentary Drive to Survive.. Verstappen opted out of the last two seasons because he didn’t like the liberties that drama-making took. But this summer, Max and Netflix seem to have reached an impasse.
“It’s nice to understand what we want from each other, isn’t it? And I think the interview we did was pretty cool, so… I wanted it to be as real as possible. You know, no fake moves, no overrated rolls. I’m not like that. I like to get to the point, give my opinion and say how I see things. Of course we still have to see the final product, but everything is looking good.”
PDespite his initial disappointment with Drive to Survive, Max is a fan of other Netflix sports documentaries. He likes to “see how others work,” he told me. Not surprisingly, one of his favorites is The Last Dance (about the NBA). “Of course, not everything is 100% true, because it’s a documentary and a lot of things are exaggerated,” he said. “But I liked Michael Jordan’s spirit, how he could do it and how he wanted to win everything.”
As attractive as the Jordan comparisons are from a competitive point of view, it would be a mistake to think that Max wants to emulate someone. He grew up in a room, like many children, lined with posters of pilots on the walls, his heroes: “I never admired anyone. I had a life-size cardboard reproduction of my father from his F1 days. I never said to myself: ‘I want to be like this guy’, or anything like that. I just want to be myself. This is what works best. If you start copying people, you can only be as good as they are. You can’t be better”
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
