Max at the ANWB: “It has made me better”

Published on 07 September 2016 by Mike Motilall

Wednesday afternoon, Max Verstappen was present in the Hague at the ANWB for an exclusive interview. In the light of the traffic safety-campaign in the Netherlands and road safety-campaign by the FIA, Roelof Hemmen gave the 18-year-old youngster a third degree. A wide scope of subjects was dealt with. He was asked, among other questions, what it did to him when, in 2015, during his first Grand Prix in Monaco, he experienced his first severe crash.

Max replied: “The moment you hit someone at a high speed, things start breaking away from your car and you are not able to steer anymore. You know that you are going to crash and you have the feeling: this is going to hurt. You brace yourself and try to cushion the impact. Some say to keep your hands off the steering wheel. I didn’t do that and think that was the right thing to do. The moment you brace yourself, you flex every muscle so your body is able to cope with the impact. Days after, I did bother me somewhat, but on Wednesday I was back in a kart again. If that is possible after a 40G impact, then a Formula 1-car is pretty safe.”

Has it made you more cautious? “No, it has made me better. Before, I had no clue how safe a Formula 1-car was. After that crash, I was a more relaxed person in the car. As a driver you need to get back in immediately and go even faster, that’s the aim.”

After a short explanation on all the buttons that are to be found on the steering wheel of his Red Bull RB12, there was a brief preview of the upcoming Grand Prix in Singapore. “I expect that we will have a good weekend. In Singapore we run on a street circuit where you need a lot of grip from the car, and we have that. Fortunately there are few straights. We are really looking forward to it. A podium finish is without a doubt our target, but we are more looking for the win.”