Liam Lawson is facing a daunting task at Red Bull as the new teammate of Max Verstappen. The four-time world champion may be a likeable guy off the track, but once the helmet is on, there’s a true killer lurking within, warns Red Bull mechanic Calum Nicholas.
In the podcast Road to Success, Nicholas extensively discusses his employer’s new line-up. The fact that Sergio Pérez has finally had to step aside after a few challenging seasons and a new teammate for Max Verstappen has been appointed says a lot, Nicholas believes. “When you’re up against someone as incredibly talented as Max, who makes it all look so easy, it takes its toll eventually. When you return to the garage with your car thinking, ‘yes, I’ve had a good lap,’ and then Max goes out and is a tenth and a half faster, it mentally drains you.”
‘Max is very open and honest’
According to Nicholas, Verstappen undergoes a transformation as soon as the helmet goes on. “Max is very open and honest; he’s just a really nice guy, so it’s hard to comprehend that there’s such a killer in him. As soon as he closes his helmet, he wants to destroy you.”
Especially when he’s provoked. Calum Nicholas: “If Max Verstappen feels that you’re against him, then he shows how good he is. I think the Grand Prix in Brazil was a perfect example of that. We knew that Max liked rain, but it was a tough weekend. It felt like everything was against us. You could clearly see his reaction after the qualification; the flags seemed all against him. Sometimes you have those weeks where it seems like everything is against you, but that’s when you get the best out of everyone in the garage.
