Max on rain masterclass: "Jos taught me a lot"
Published on 24 November 2016 by Stefan Meens
After his spectacular rain drive at Interlagos, Max Verstappen attended the final Thursday FIA drivers’ press conference of the season. Topics debated included the Dutchman’s car control, the title fight and next year’s cars.
More than once, Max has been compared to Formula 1 legends such as Ayrton Senna. Will the Brazilian Grand Prix have changed that image of the youngster? “Difficult to say. I don't think that's up to me. I just try to do the best possible race I can. I was definitely enjoying myself in Brazil but I'm not sure if it has changed something for me personally in terms of my reputation.”
Max demonstrated incredible ability in the rain. But where did he learn these skills? “I think everybody here did go-karting so you always learn from that as well, but it's just also when you are not in a competition and you are just having fun with friends, for example, you are driving on the snow or whatever. You are always trying something different; you're sliding and you're still competing against your friends, trying to have fun in one way but still trying to beat each other in something. That's what I've always done in winter time for example and somehow in a fun way you are still improving your skills. I think that definitely helps a lot.”
His father Jos played a big part as well: “Then, together with my dad we practice a lot in those circumstances, also in the wet, he was helping me a lot, especially when I was six or seven years old. He was even standing on the track showing me where to drive, trying to find different lines and that definitely helped me a lot our there in Brazil a lot.”
Previewing the final race of the season, Max is ambitious. “We'll try the take the fight to Mercedes. I think they will be very strong in the dry anyway, so it will be difficult to beat them but hopefully we can be very close. That would be very positive for us.”
Looking ahead even further, to 2017, Max is excited but remains realistic about his chances. ”I think maybe that all depends on the package you get around you, you know? So if it's the fastest car on track, for sure we can win races. So, we'll see. I think we're all very positive about next year but I think it's important to just wait and see when the car gets to the track. Then we'll know more. At the moment it's a bit difficult to say what exactly what I want to achieve for next year because you don't know what the packages are.”
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