Despite narrowly missing out on his fifth consecutive title, Max Verstappen will go down in history as the moral world champion of 2025. Amidst all the turmoil, he was the man who kept a cool head and took the reins of the long-struggling Red Bull team. “Losing sleep and worrying gets you nowhere,” he says.
– Max, there’s a lot of talk in the paddock about the car, the setup, the strategies, but how important is mental strength in all of this?
“Absolutely crucial! Not everyone can handle pressure equally well, it’s something that has to be in you. A lot of things can be learned, but some things really have to be part of your personality, and you can’t fully learn them. For me, I think it’s a combination of innate and learned. From a young age, it was always: Don’t complain too much, don’t whine, just go for it!”
‘Neutral in my emotions’
“Dealing with disappointments is also part of it. I’m generally quite down-to-earth. I can put things into perspective quickly and not get too worked up about them. I try to draw extra strength and motivation from both a victory and a disappointment, that’s always the goal. But I must say, whether I’ve had a good or a bad race, I’m almost always very neutral in my emotions. Both in euphoria and in negativity. That keeps everything quite simple and clear for me.”
– Are you like this outside of sports as well?
“Yes, I actually am. I never really worry. Maybe I should worry more sometimes, but I don’t. Life just goes on. And if you have a problem, you try to solve it.”
‘Already busy with other things’
– That sounds easier said than done. Isn’t that sometimes a bit of a mask? Red Bull had a difficult first part of the season. That must eat at you a bit inside, right?
“Well, not so much actually. I am also busy with so many other things outside of Formula 1. So when the race hasn’t gone well or even badly and I come home in the evening, I am already busy with other things in my head. My whole life doesn’t revolve around Formula 1. And because of that, I am quite neutral and I can always put everything that happens into perspective very quickly.”
– For example, do you ever have sleepless nights after a bad race?
“No, not really. When I wake up, I do think about it. And then I analyze in my head what we can do and what we need to look at, but I try to lose as little energy as possible. Because lying awake and worrying doesn’t get you anywhere. I’d rather sleep well.”
