“I don’t need to coach Max, he knows what he’s doing”

Published on 19 March 2015 by Niels Hendrix

The first time Fabiana Valenti, head of communications at Scuderia Toro Rosso, saw Max Verstappen, the Dutch racer was still in his nappies. When father Jos drove for Minardi, Fabiana also worked for the Italian outfit, albeit in a different role. Now she operates as Max’ press officer during the Grand Prix weekends.

“I’m very impressed with Max. His passport reads seventeen but that has to be a mistake”, smiles Fabiana, talking to RedBull.com. “He is so cool, so mature, so good. He’s something special.”

Last year, ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix in August, Max appeared in the F1 paddock for the first time as a Red Bull Junior after being confirmed as a 2015 Scuderia Toro Rosso driver.

“Max’ signing was a huge story which resulted in a huge hype and surge of media attention regarding Max”, remembers Fabiana. “At first we didn’t intend to host a press conference, but the media interest was so vast that we had to organise one anyway. Initially we wanted team boss Franz Tost and Red Bull-scout Helmut Marko to accompany Max as he was only sixteen at the time. However, I was assured that it wouldn’t be necessary for Franz and Helmut to join. And indeed, Max did well. He calmly answered all the questions and was relaxed all the time. I mean, he must’ve been a little bit nervous but quite clearly he’s been trained from an early age to deal with it.”

During her career in F1, Fabiana has worked with many different drivers. In her opinion, Max stands out. He appears always calm and collective. He does the things that are required of him and for a guy his age, he has a lot of confidence. “If I look at myself, it took me a while to get that confident. But because Max has so much experience to build on, from all those years in racing, he really is ahead of many other. However, he is also still a seventeen-year-old who likes to joke and tease”, says Fabiana.

She hopes Max remains a humble and polite guy and that Formula 1 will not change his personality. “I’ve seen some really nice guys change overtime into, let’s say, lesser nice guys throughout their time in F1. But if I’m honest, I don’t see that happening with Max”, says Fabiana, who then goes on to recall the first event she worked with the Dutch youngster.

“During VKV City Racing in Rotterdam, I gave Max a race suit. After he gave a demonstration in a F1 car, he didn’t just give it back to me in a bundle. He meticulously folded the race suit and returned the bag in a better state than I when I handed it to him”, laughs Fabiana. “I remember asking Jos ‘Is he always like this?’, to which his answer was: ‘Yes, always’!”

In a way, the event in Rotterdam marks the start of a new chapter in Max’ life. Fast forward half a year later and the 17-year-old’s situation has changed significantly. “Now he is a Formula 1 driver and the whole world knows him. Even so, I haven’t heard Max complain about anything. He makes my life so much easier because he realizes that being a Formula 1 driver encompasses more than just racing”, says Fabiana who believes her relationship with Max is only going to grow stronger as both are very open people. “I see myself being in a sort of mothering role, as someone he can always talk to if something’s up. That’s why many drivers I worked with, called me ‘mama’. But Max still calls me Fabi.”

Ahead of the new season, Fabiana is desperate to find out how Max will fare in the STR10 in his debut season. “I really hope this is going to be our season. I’ve got a good feeling about it.”