Richard Verschoor is currently leading the Formula 2 championship, and a title would be a reward for the MP Motorsport driver after years of struggle. Every season, the Dutchman manages to scrape together enough resources to compete in F2 for another year. But he’s decided to stop doing this.
“This is my fifth full season,” Verschoor calculates as he takes his time for a conversation at Silverstone. This happens just before some of his ‘partners’ come to visit. That’s what he calls his sponsors. It’s something that sets him apart from many other drivers. He preaches involvement; not just ‘taking’ but also ‘giving’.
Partners
“Sponsors pay money. But partners are involved: they with me, I with them. It’s nice to do things together, to make them part of the racing.” So, it goes beyond just shaking the money bag. And it works. “There are now thirty partners,” says Verschoor. “That’s more than some Formula 1 teams.”
However, this doesn’t mean that he’s financially set for life. Verschoor doesn’t receive support from F1 teams that would help him as a junior with his career. He’s like a self-made man who, year after year, together with his friend Duco Vos, has to pull out all the stops to secure a budget for a racing season. “I’ve had sleepless nights over the past few years,” Verschoor admits. “Wondering if everything would turn out alright. And I’ve experienced things… I could write a book about them.”
‘Decision about the future’
Partners help him with travel and accommodation. “I’m grateful for that. But people sometimes think: this guy has got it made financially. The truth, however, is that you can just about get by, it’s not like you really have anything left over. That’s something I’m taking into account in my decision about the future: you want a bit more certainty.”
From a sporting perspective, things are going well for him, he’s never been so close to the F2 title. But the MP Motorsport driver is far from counting his chickens, even after this eighth of fourteen race weekends. “But how great would it be: a Dutchman becoming champion in Formula 2 with a Dutch team?”
