“Imagine Sitting in a Rollercoaster”: Max Verstappen Reveals He Still Faces Anxiety When He Drives an F1 Car

Credits: IMAGO HochZwei

Three-time F1 champion Max Verstappen is arguably the best driver on the current grid, considering his recent form. The Dutchman has won a staggering 36 races since the start of the 2022 campaign (15 in 2022, 19 in 2o23, and 2 so far in 2024). Despite being so relentless and having so much confidence in his ability to push the limits, the 26-year-old interestingly continues to feel anxious when he drives an F1 car. In a recent conversation, famous YouTuber Cleo Abram asked Verstappen what it feels like to drive an F1 car.

In reply, the Red Bull driver said, “Imagine sitting in a roller coaster and it basically just shoots off. But then like 5 to 10 times worse, while having a steering wheel in your hands with all the buttons“.

The Dutchman then explained why he continues to feel nervous whenever he steps into an F1 car despite having years of experience now. “The very first time that I sat in the car and I was going to drive it myself I was a little bit nervous“, he added.

He then added that even to this day he has such moments of anxiety because of the speed at which an F1 car “shoots off” into the distance. Another occasion when Verstappen revealed he got very nervous was when he got behind the wheel of a drifting car.

Max Verstappen once revealed how “crazy” was his drifting challenge

Max Verstappen may barely have any concerns about traveling at speeds in excess of 200 mph but he did reveal his discomfort when he once took part in a drifting challenge. Red Bull, who are famous for their social media content, once paired Verstappen with ‘Mad’ Mike Whiddett, a drift racer, and asked the Dutchman to undertake a challenge.

Verstappen took part in a challenge called the ‘Horner Corner‘. During this challenge, multiple enlarged images of Christian Horner were placed around the track.

As quoted by planetf1.com, the Dutchman said, “It was very crazy. I mean, I didn’t know what to expect already sitting next to him, and then I had to do it myself. I think it’s probably I’ve been the most nervous in the last one or two years doing that, just because it’s not natural, right? It’s not what I do normally“.

Verstappen was simply required to drive a modified 600bhp ‘MADBUL’ Mazda in such a way that he got as close as possible to the images of Horner, but did not knock them down. The three-time F1 champion revealed that the challenge made him the “most nervous” he had been in the last couple of years or so.