“The guy is opening FIFA packs before qualifying” : Alex Albon discloses Max Verstappen’s pre-race routine


“The guy is opening FIFA packs before qualifying” : Alex Albon discloses Max Verstappen’s pre-race routine

Max Verstappen

Williams driver Alex Albon disclosed that Max Verstappen, his former Red Bull teammate, is so relaxed before qualifying sessions that he opens FIFA packs. Albon and Verstappen worked together for a season and a half in Red Bull hues, with Albon joining the team midway through 2019 as a substitute for fellow Red Bull programme driver Pierre Gasly.

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Verstappen is renowned for being a direct personality, reluctant to be distracted in 2022 by discussion of the title already being his due to an 80-point advantage over Charles Leclerc in the Drivers’ Championship. He had initially declined interviews for Netflix’s Drive to Survive F1 docuseries, having faith that certain circumstances were not clearly represented.

Verstappen, then, is a driver who prefers to tune out all the clamour and, to some degree, the allure of Formula One and concentrate solely on the racing and the purpose of the work. Albon, on the other hand, would describe how relaxed Verstappen truly is on a race weekend.

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“He’s very much the most gifted driver I’ve ever raced against” : Alex Albon on Max Verstappen

Alex Albon
Alex Albon

“He’s very relaxed, and I would say, I’ve always been interested in the fact that, Netflix or whatever, he’s never really touched, and people don’t really see this side to him, people don’t really know this side to him. But yeah, I’ve been with him and he can be so relaxed and it’s almost like I wish I could be like that. The guy is opening FIFA packs before qualifying, you’re in a different level,” said Albon regarding Verstappen’s composure before a race.

Albon stayed Verstappen’s teammate for the 2020 season, but was demoted to test and reserve driver at the end of the season, with Mexican driver Sergio Perez taking his spot in the lineup. And, according to Albon, Verstappen, a driver who has no time for “politics,” is the most “naturally gifted” racing driver he has ever faced. “I’d say he’s very much the most gifted driver I’ve ever raced against,” said Albon. “And I think it’s hard to say…we compare the greats. But yeah, his driving does the talking, there’s no politics, how he talks or how he speaks. He’s very straight to the point,” added Albon.

Albon, like Gasly before him, found it difficult to match Verstappen’s standard of achievement from the Red Bull challengers, but is now revamping his career with the Williams team. Perez recently credited his bad run of form to Red Bull’s upgrade package, which pushed the RB18 closer to Verstappen’s level.

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