Max Verstappen begins his defence of the Formula 1 title at the Australian Grand Prix this weekend. He’ll be relieved when he can put his visor down and roll out onto the Albert Park track.
Verstappen has made it clear that he doesn’t enjoy the ‘show’ aspect of F1. He’s previously refused to take part in Drive to Survive, and he also joked that he wanted to miss February’s season launch event in London through illness.
In a pre-planned move, Verstappen and new teammate Liam Lawson were the only drivers who didn’t speak on stage. Christian Horner took the microphone instead and was met with boos from the crowd.
The Dutchman also received a mixed reception inside the arena, so it’s unclear whether he’ll take part in any future editions. It might depend on the location, with the London audience somewhat hostile.
It was a somewhat frustrating pre-season for the 63-time race-winner, with Red Bull still facing some of the handling issues that plagued them last season. Verstappen shook his head in dismay after one particularly erratic lap.
Speaking at a recent Viaplay event, Verstappen said only McLaren could win the title on current form. He’s braced to lose some ground at the start of the season.
Max Verstappen won’t shoot any more TikTok ‘nonsense’ for Red Bull
Speaking to Dutch outlets including De Telegraaf, Verstappen said he only wanted to feature in ‘constructive’ social media content this season. That could involve, for instance, educating fans about the experience of driving an F1 car.
He no longer has any interest in ‘nonsense’ TikToks despite Red Bull’s large following on the platform (6.2m). Verstappen has often filmed light-hearted videos, such as the one below where he plays ‘Guess Who’ with former teammate Sergio Perez.
Journalist Erik van Haren confirmed that after ‘consultation’ with Red Bull, Verstappen now has more control over his appearances. The media team will no longer interview him when he arrives at the circuit.
“I especially like to be involved in more serious, productive things,” he said. “Not with those nonsense things. I’m not really into that.
“I prefer that they release things that are constructive and that people can maybe learn something from. Instead of videos for TikTok and the like.”
Red Bull found ‘alarming’ Max Verstappen car issue before Australian Grand Prix
Verstappen feels Helmut Marko has been too optimistic about the Red Bull car after pre-season testing. The veteran motorsport adviser may now have adopted a different tone.
In one of his last interviews before the Australian GP weekend, Marko clarified that Lando Norris was up to a second faster than his rivals in race pace. Norris appears to have the best chance of ending Verstappen’s title streak.
The Red Bull superstar proved last season that he can still score consistent podiums in the third or the fourth-fastest car. But that might not be enough over a full season.
Verstappen’s car wouldn’t properly respond to technical changes in testing, an ‘alarming’ discovery for the engineers. He was fiercely critical of the RB20 at times and he might also be unhappy with its successor.
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