Max Verstappen explains why Brazil worships Senna over Piquet
Kelly Piquet and Max Verstappen - Red Bull Content Pool
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Max Verstappen has given his view on why Brazil idolises Ayrton Senna above Nelson Piquet and Emerson Fittipaldi.
Verstappen, who is in a long term relationship with Piquet's daughter, Kelly, agreed with Fernando Alonso that Senna simply connected more with people, and he linked part of that devotion to Senna's early death. Verstappen then made it clear that connecting with the public is not something he cares about himself.
The question came up during Thursday's FIA press conference at Interlagos, ahead of a São Paulo Grand Prix weekend in which tributes to Senna are everywhere. The journalist who asked it pointed out that Senna is a legend, but Brazil has three world champions. Fittipaldi won the title in 1972 and 1974. Piquet won it in 1981, 1983 and 1987, and Senna followed in 1988, 1990 and 1991.
Alonso says Senna had something you cannot fake
Alonso answered first. He gave credit to all three champions and recalled that in Spain, anyone driving too fast gets asked, "Where are you going, Fittipaldi?" However, the Aston Martin driver said Senna stood apart because of his personality rather than his results alone.
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"Not only the race wins, because they were maybe all of them, you know, Nelson, three-time World Champion and this, but Ayrton was connecting more with people," Alonso said. "You know, and that's something you have or you don't. You can try as much as you want to connect with people, and sometimes you don't achieve that because you are not natural, you are not yourself. You try too much to connect, and I think Ayrton didn't need that."
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Verstappen points to Senna's São Paulo roots and early death
Verstappen started with geography. "Now, naturally, of course, Ayrton is also from São Paulo, so it's normal that I think already the support probably is a bit bigger here," he said. He then raised the most sensitive part of the comparison: "Now, of course, also the sad story is that he passed away, and that probably then, you know, the affection and the legacy starts sooner."
The Red Bull driver agreed with Alonso's main point, but added that the three Brazilians were very different characters.
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Like Fernando said, he probably connected more with people, but at the same time, sometimes personalities differ, right? Some people really want to connect, or it just naturally happens. Some people don't really care to connect. I mean, I'm going to be honest with you, I also don't really care because I like to win.- Max Verstappen, FIA press conference, Interlagos
That did not mean Verstappen was playing down Senna's standing. "Was he one of the best drivers ever? 100 percent, yeah," he said, adding: "And I think it's very nice and special how people are remembering him and how much he meant to the Brazilian people."
Verstappen arrives in Brazil second in the championship
Verstappen's preference for winning over being liked fits his season. He comes to Interlagos off the back of victory in Mexico and sits second in the drivers' standings, a position he described as "a big surprise" given Red Bull's early struggles. "I'm just happy that within a season we had such a big turnaround," he said.
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