Verstappen to young drivers: Dangerous to look blindly solely at F1!
Max Verstappen has offered crucial advice to young drivers amid his Nurburgring outing. The Red Bull Racing star urged them to be open to careers in other racing series including Endurance Racing.
“With endurance racing, there are a lot of opportunities to have a good career…”- Max Verstappen
Verstappen, who spoke to the media during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, highlighted the need for young drivers to have an open mind towards racing beyond Formula 1. The Dutch driver also highlighted the several opportunities available to them beyond the pinnacle of motorsport.
“It all depends on your own mindset as a driver. If your mindset is set on Formula 1 and you do not want to change that perception, then you can [feel like] you're talking to a wall.”
“Sometimes, some of the drivers that I'm close to, they all dream of Formula 1, but I also always advise [them] that [they should] keep the options open just in case it doesn't work out because not everyone always gets the opportunity, even though you might be good enough.”
“I also do think that with endurance racing, there are a lot of opportunities to have a good career, and just staring blindly at Formula 1 only sometimes can be a danger as well.”
Verstappen: It could take time to convince drivers
The four-time Formula 1 champion also expressed how it could prove a little difficult to convince drivers to consider other racing series. However, Verstappen concluded by reiterating his belief that drivers often fall in love with Endurance racing when they try out cars in such racing series.
“But I also know that a lot of drivers dream of being here. It's not easy to give up that dream as well, but I always feel that once a driver starts realising I might not make it, and they start trying a GT3 car or hypercar they fall in love with it is as well.”
“Sometimes it just takes a bit more time to convince them to not only look at Formula 1, but like I said, it all depends on the driver's mindset as well to be open-minded.”
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Despite already boasting a successful career racing in Formula 1, Verstappen has continued to show his passion for other racing categories. Following his triumph at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver participated in the NLS series at the Nurburgring – a race which he won driving the Ferrari 296 GT3 car for the Emil Frey Racing outfit.
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