Red Bull Racing driver, Max Verstappen, Photo: Race Pictures.

Verstappen earns praise as 'the most friendly, funny, personal guy'

20:46, 16 Sep

Updated: 22:13, 16 Sep

byTobia Elia

Max Verstappen’s lead engineer, Matt Caller, believes the Dutch driver is often misunderstood on social media and is actually quite the opposite of how he is portrayed.

Max Verstappen at Monza. Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

''He's the most laid-back, friendly, funny, personal guy''

- Matt Caller

Appearing on The Inside Track podcast, Caller stated: "I think a lot of people said it, but he's so misinterpreted across social media and the F1 audience.

"I think there's a perception of him that's demanding and angry, but he couldn't be any further from that. He's the most laid -back, friendly, funny, personal guy."

The British engineer believes that Verstappen is extremely competitive at work because his only goal is to reach the top step of the podium on Sundays, but outside of that, he is actually a very down-to-earth guy.

"He knows what he wants to do. He wants to win. And so do we. So there's a mutual respect there," he stated.

"We're going to work really bloody hard to give you the race car that you want. And you're going to go out there and get us race wins. So we can have some champagne on a Sunday.

"But outside from that, you can chat to him about anything. And he's genuinely very incredibly funny, witty, smart. He's switched on. He's a nice guy to work with," he finally added.

Wheatley stands up both for Max and Jos Verstappen

Speaking in a recent interview with De Telegraaf, Jonathan Wheatley, who has had the opportunity to work closely with Max Verstappen and, consequently, also with his father Jos at Red Bull, also spoke about the mistaken perception people have of both of them.

“Things like that were said about Michael Schumacher, too. To paint him as the villain. But Max and Jos are perhaps the most sincere and honest people you can meet.”

“They're incredibly passionate, and yes, Jos is emotionally invested in what Max does. But why would you think you can achieve anything if you don't do it with complete dedication?”

“In the heat of the moment, something sometimes gets thrown out, but often only one side of the story is presented. I know them very differently.”

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