Max Verstappen will do “absolutely anything” to win races – and that includes putting in countless hours of work behind the scenes, according to one of his top mechanics.
Callum Nicholas, who’s become a familiar face in F1 circles thanks to his work with Red Bull Racing and appearances on sports podcasts, recently opened up about what makes the four-time world champion tick.
“Max will do absolutely anything required to win,” Nicholas revealed on the High Performance podcast. “In terms of the hard work, it’s sort of limitless. He will do whatever it takes. He’s made that absolutely clear.”
The mechanic, who wrote a book about life in the F1 pit lane, says the team sometimes jokes about their star driver’s lifestyle.
“We’ll say, oh, yeah, flies in on a Thursday, flies out Sunday, nice private jet,” Nicholas laughed.
But there’s way more to it than that.
When Verstappen’s not at the track, he’s usually grinding away in the simulator or working on his physical and mental preparation. It’s this behind-the-scenes dedication that’s helped push him into the ranks of F1’s all-time greats.
There’s just one thing that really gets under Verstappen’s skin during race weekends.
“The thing that Max dislikes the most would be all the media requirements,” Nicholas explained. “Max would quite happily just arrive, get in the car, and do his job. It’s about prioritizing what you need to win and what you don’t need to win.”
For a driver who’s laser-focused on performance, those PR obligations must feel like a real distraction from what he does best – winning races.
