‘In the beginning they looked at me funny because I was positive about Verstappen'

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09:28, 14 Feb 2021

In an interview with Formula 1 Magazine, German former pit reporter Kai Ebel has been looking back on his time on the grid and with German television. He also explained the strong relationship he built up at the time with the Verstappens and the Dutch Formula 1 world.

Ebel stateed that he is not only a fan of the younger Verstappen, but also immediately felt a bond with his father Jos when he entered Formula 1. As quoted by Formule1.nl: “When Jos Verstappen entered Formula 1, he was my guy. I always liked Jos, knew how hard he had it at Benetton next to Michael Schumacher . We have always kept in touch, occasionally meeting in private in Mönchengladbach.”

“It's important in your work that you get on with people and have a bit of fun with them. The Verstappen family belongs to that category. We've been out many nights and believe me, we've had a lot of fun."

Always positive about Max

"In the beginning I was looked at strangely by many colleagues, because I was always very positive about Max. They were often more negative, saying he made too many mistakes."

Ebel continued: “About Schumi, colleagues said he was tough, but Max was called Mad Max. I just didn't think that was fair. Max is also very tough and by now everyone knows how good he is.”

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	219
2	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	169
3	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	160
4	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	138
5	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	128
6	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	109
7	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	92
8	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	68
9	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	43
10	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	42
11	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	23
12	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	19
13	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	18
14	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	10
15	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	6
16	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	5
17	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	3
18	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	2
19	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	1
20	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0
21	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
22	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0

‘In the beginning they looked at me funny because I was positive about Verstappen'

Always positive about Max

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