Max Verstappen isn’t just fast – he’s playing chess while others are playing checkers. That’s what his long-time Red Bull mechanic Calum Nicholas sees from the pit wall.
Nicholas has been working with Verstappen since 2016, when the Dutch driver was just a raw teenage talent bursting onto the F1 scene. Now, he’s watching a master at work.
“It was so obvious from that first race – there was this raw, untamed talent in Max that was going to be incredible,” Nicholas said on the High-Performance Podcast.
But raw talent was just the beginning.
The early years had their share of crashes and car failures. What’s different now? Verstappen has evolved into a complete driver who seems to see everything happening on track – sometimes before it even happens.
“He’s mastered all those little things,” Nicholas explained. “His awareness of what else is going on in a race, his ability to control it… he just does everything well.”
Here’s what makes it really special: While Verstappen is casually setting fastest laps at the front, he’s also scanning TV screens around the circuit, spotting potential safety car situations before they’re called.
He’s basically doing race strategy from the cockpit.
“Before a safety car’s called, he’s seen the crash that’s happened on the screen on another part of the circuit,” Nicholas revealed. “He’s already thinking about pit stops and what moves to make next.”
Most drivers are focused purely on their driving. Verstappen? He’s watching his rivals’ pit stops on trackside screens while maintaining race-winning pace.
“That spare capacity to be doing all of that, talking on the radio, and still finding time to look around while he’s driving… it’s something else,” Nicholas said, clearly impressed by how his driver has matured.
It’s this combination of raw speed and racing intelligence that’s made Verstappen nearly unbeatable since 2023. As Nicholas puts it: “We’ve watched Max mature into this guy that just seems untouchable.”
The scariest part for his competitors? He’s still getting better.
