The Verstappen techniques that have made him F1’s benchmark driver

Understanding the specific abilities of Formula 1 superstars is never easy. Max Verstappen is a key example and people fascinated by motorsport are always trying to work out how he performs at such an extreme level. Karun Chandhok often analyses those abilities for Sky F1, but he also remembers a day from our joint Channel 4 era when he first witnessed Verstappen in an F1 car while we were standing trackside at the Barcelona pre-season test.

“There was a point where we watched them coming into Turn 4,” Karun recalls. “As Max was braking and turning into the corner, the rear would start to slide and I thought, ‘He’s going to overheat the tyres, he’s lost it.’ But then I realised he did that every lap and he’s got this incredible ability to control the rear of the car on the brakes. It was much like they were doing in karting and I think it’s because he had such a strong karting pedigree.”

That’s an opinion confirmed by Alan Dove, co-author of The Science of the Racer’s Brain. Alan was testing a kart at PF International circuit when a 13-year-old Verstappen was on track in 2011 and was impressed. In 2013 he saw Verstappen in the opening round of the FIA Karting World Championship through the final section of the same circuit.

“The one thing that got me was the accuracy,” he recalls. “The kart would pitch into the final corner, the inside rear wheel would just lift up a tiny bit, but it would be the same every lap. The kart would never step out, it would be perfect with absolute control at all points. I always think maybe it’s that ability that builds the foundation to such great success.”

Jolyon Palmer, another ex-F1 driver who spends time studying data and watching intensely for F1 TV, also identifies Verstappen’s corner-entry technique in the current era as particularly outstanding.

“He’s got smooth inputs but has the car aggressive on the nose on the edge of oversteer,” says the 2014 GP2 champion. “Most drivers are more conventionally balanced and looking after the rear with more stability. But Max can live with it with subtle steering inputs and an aggressive front end, which is technically probably the quickest way to have a racing car.”

Verstappen's combination of smooth inputs and a pointy nose - verging on oversteer - is a style that impresses Palmer

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Verstappen also has fantastic throttle control, something that Terence Dove, Alan’s brother and a longtime karting coach, showed me via video from Max competing at Castelletto in Italy in 2013.

“The onboard camera doesn’t show his hands but his feet,” Terence says. “You see his foot off the throttle at times when you would expect it to be on the throttle. There’s a sensitivity where he’s understanding speed, grip and where the kart is and knowing when not to go. Most drivers just have a switch that says ‘If I can put my foot down I will’ while he’s operating on a different level of sensitivity.”

Natural ability and style add to Verstappen’s equation, but Terence has another appreciation of how he makes it all work. In a book he wrote a few years ago, Learn How to Master the Art of Kart Driving, Terence opened the first chapter with a simple statement: ‘To become a great driver you need exceptional levels of self-esteem’ and he used an element of Verstappen’s first season in F1 to demonstrate that.

"He’s got that adaptability to be able to control how much energy and how much effort he’s putting in; he is so into his comfort zone now” Allan McNish

In Singapore in 2015, Verstappen was ahead of Toro Rosso team-mate Carlos Sainz and was asked to let him pass. Thoughts and strategy were in play, but Terence feels that as a young driver who then had the ability to shout ‘No’ on the radio yet wasn’t overcome with doubts and fears for going up against his team meant he had that courage to stand alone. Verstappen continued driving his car on the limit with a clear mind which allowed him to keep his own integrity intact.

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That ability to depend on his self-confidence has led to two world titles while a third is in the offing. His self-esteem still drives him but experience is playing a part.

“He’s matured over time,” Karun confirms, “and he’s understood there’s a degree of controlled aggression required to achieve
the ultimate result.”

Verstappen demonstrated his self-esteem by ignoring team orders in 2015 at Singapore

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Another former F1 driver, and multiple Le Mans winner, Allan McNish agrees: “Max has developed the capability to run at a speed level while keeping the tyre in position, something that normally if you’re aggressive you can’t do. He’s got that adaptability to be able to control how much energy and how much effort he’s putting in; he is so into his comfort zone now.”

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Allan also grew up through karting and raced single-seaters under the watchful eye of a multiple world champion who would pass on information that wasn’t always easy to absorb when McNish was young and ambitious. But he can see it being taken on board by Verstappen.

“I remember Jackie Stewart saying to us ‘you win at the slowest possible pace’ but we didn’t do that. We didn’t know anything other than maximum attack. Verstappen still has his Max attack but he also has his min attack....”

And with his 26th birthday still just ahead of him, Verstappen has the capacity to learn even more.

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Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images