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max verstappen xevi pujolar difficult guy

Verstappen hasn't changed a bit: 'Sometimes seems like a difficult guy'

30 November 2023 at 11:00

Max Verstappen has dominated the 2023 Formula 1 season with 19 wins in 22 Grand Prix. Many have been impressed, including Xevi Pujolar. Now working at Alfa Romeo, but still the man who worked with Verstappen in 2015.

Pujolar worked with Verstappen at Toro Rosso. The Dutchman made his Formula 1 debut at Toro Rosso in 2015 and worked with Pujolar as his race engineer. The two built a solid relationship. Now eight years later, Verstappen is a multiple world champion, and Pujolar works at Alfa Romeo, but the Spaniard is far from forgetting his former pupil.

Verstappen still the same driver

"It's good to see. Really, for me, the guy is a machine. I'm really enjoying to see on the way how he's doing. And I feel proud that I was part of that beginning with him. I'm happy for him," said the F1 Racing Director of Sauber Motorsport in Abu Dhabi. When GPblog asked him about the development he sees in Verstappen, the Spaniard said the following.

"I don't see how they work within the team, but on how he's behaving on the radio and what I can see, he's the same guy pushing flat out everything, every single lap, every day. So, for sure, that makes a difference. Sometimes he comes across as a difficult guy, but he wants to be the best." Pujolar was asked if he has ever worked with someone similar, he said: "No, probably not. Not that I've seen."