Max Verstappen believes that having two top-level drivers in the same team inevitably leads to conflict. This statement carries significant weight as Red Bull prepares to welcome the highly anticipated Isack Hajjar.
Verstappen's verdict: the star duo, a false good idea
What would a team of Formula 1 directed by Max Verstappen The question may seem theoretical, almost fanciful, but the answer from the four-time world champion, delivered in the podcast Pelas TracksThis is anything but trivial. And above all, it resonates strongly with current events in the paddock.
For VerstappenThe rule is simple and immutable: two great talents with a similar profile in the same team never works in the long run.
« It's not ideal to have two drivers of the same level of talent on a team " the pilot states bluntly,"
RedBull.
According to him, the history of the F1 is full of examples where this type of association, however attractive it may seem on paper, ends up turning into an internal battleground.
« When you look at the teams that have actually won championships, it's generally not with two drivers who are identical in terms of status and ambition. »
For verstappen, The problem is not talent, but ego, pressure and the struggle for leadership – explosive ingredients when the world title is at stake.
The Dutchman, on the contrary, advocates a very specific approach: an experienced driver at the peak of his abilities, accompanied by a young talent in the learning phase.
To support his argument, Max Verstappen cite the Real MadridThe Madrid club is an absolute benchmark in managing cycles and egos. It carefully avoids placing two natural leaders at the peak of their influence simultaneously, ensuring smooth transitions without internal fractures.
A philosophy that the four-time world champion believes is fully applicable to the Formula 1, where human stability can be as important as raw performance. An analysis developed in more detail in our Paddock GP article published on January 11th, codedicated to the parallels between Real Madrid's strategy and the management of major clubs F1.
« That's exactly what you need to try to replicate in Formula 1: someone at their peak or close to the end of their peak, and next to them, a young guy ready to take over. »
Reading these remarks, it's difficult not to make the connection with the gradual arrival by Isack Hadjar in orbit Red BullUltra-fast, ambitious, charismatic, the Frenchman ticks all the boxes of a future leader… but also of a potential disruptor if he were to find himself too quickly facing a driver of equivalent status.
Verstappen He himself acknowledges that these duos can work in the short term, even shine, but they almost always explode when the stakes become maximum.
« We can manage this for a year, maybe two. But in the long run, it's not sustainable. The garage is falling apart, key people are leaving, and everything eventually starts to crumble. »
Without naming names, Verstappen suggests that the current grid is already moving towards this type of risky configuration. A message that sounds like a warning: in F1Talent alone is not enough. Internal stability remains the most underestimated weapon for winning.
Was it Max Verstappen will probably never be a team manager, his verdict is unequivocal: the war of egos is the number one enemy of the world title.
