Red Bull chief on collaboration with Verstappen: 'No room for bulls**t'
F1 News
- Tygo Bekkema
Max Verstappen, three-time world champion, has been the face of Red Bull Racing for quite a few years. But behind him is an entire team that does everything in its power to get him onto the track in perfect conditions. Telegraaf journalist Erik van Haren offers us a unique insight into the work of Tom Hart.
Tom Hart is Verstappen's performance engineer. He looks at all the data in detail and has to make sure the car is tearing around the track in the fastest possible way. " For example, I can see how the tyres behave separately, the temperature of the brakes and how the engine's hybrid systems behave," he told the Telegraaf.
Gianpiero Lambiase is Verstappen's race engineer, he is also the one who communicates with Max over board radio during the race. The information GP tells Verstappen, he is often passed on by Hart. "He communicates with Max and therefore has to filter all the information and judge what is and is not relevant to pass on to the driver."
Hart experiences the cooperation with Verstappen as very pleasant. "Max now has quite a library of experience. He is the best sensor and feels what he is up against and is very good at clarifying exactly what he wants to try differently. There is no room for politics or bulls**t."
Still, Hart concludes that Verstappen should also rely a bit more often on the information coming from the pit wall. "We can see what the lap times of the other drivers are and what the wear on the different tyres is. If we tell Max to change something on his wheel, he may well think, 'The balance is just right now'. But we then have to prepare for later in the race, we always have to think one step ahead."
This article was written in collaboration with Ben Stevens