Max Verstappen in the F1-paddock in Hungary - Red Bull Contentpool

British journalist full of praise for Verstappen: 'I would have said the same'

09:54, 10 Aug

byHidde Korte

Max Verstappen appeared on the Ford Performance podcast, hosted by Chris Harris. Following the episode, Harris shared his reflections on spending time with the four-time world champion in his own podcast.

In The Car Podcast, Harris spoke about his interview with Verstappen for the first time. The British host addressed the perception many people in the UK have of Max Verstappen, noting that it often doesn’t align with the reality.

''The thing you need to know about Max Verstappen is that most people in the UK have got him wrong. And that's why I suppose I'm proud of the film.''

Harris tried to portray who Verstappen really was in the episode and sketch an image as fair as possible: ''I think we've not done a job in repositioning how people think about him, that would be too cynical.''

''What we've done is we've let you see who he is. And frankly, he's one of us. He's a very, very uncomplicated man who happens to have been born with a set of skills to drive a racing car in a manner that none of us can really understand.''

Harris praised Max Verstappen highly

Max Verstappen managed to gain the world championship in the last four years. Harris was impressed by how Verstappen behaved during the podcast: ''Even more bizarrely, he's actually aware of his talent and he's able to express what he's doing.''

''He chooses not to completely in that film. But that's all part of the fun of the film, isn't it? He's not going to give away the secret sauce recipe. But I have to say he was just super relaxed. He was a total joy to work with.''

Finally, he added: ''I sound like I've been an absolute sycophant here, but I tell you, if he wasn't, I tell you he was a dickhead. But he really wasn't. He was everything people had told me he would be.''

Verstappen in third place in the drivers championship

Although Verstappen won four world titles in a row, he's currently having a difficult year. The Dutchman ranks third behind Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Next season, Verstappen will stay loyal to Red Bull and will be driving with Ford engines. In conversation with Harris, Verstappen revealed his ambitions for his career after Formula 1.