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The rally co-driver Verstappen can thank for his Brazil win

Formula 1 is full of behind-the-scenes stars who achieve as much outside of F1 as they do in it. One of these people is a rally co-driver, without whom Max Verstappen's job would be a lot more difficult

As Max Verstappen crossed the line in Brazil for his third Formula 1 win of the year - the biggest haul in any of his five seasons in the championship - his mind must have been racing through a list of people to thank for his latest success. You'd be forgiven for thinking that quite low on that list would be a rally co-driver from Yorkshire...

However, when Joe Sturdy (pictured below, right) isn't guiding screaming Ford Escort Mk2s through bleak Welsh forests, he's Verstappen's systems engineer. Put simply, if the Honda engine in Verstappen's Red Bull goes wrong, it's Sturdy's job to fix.

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