Newey got nervous because of Verstappen: 'But that's Max'

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Adrian Newey got nervous about Max Verstappen
4 July 2023 at 12:06
Last update 4 July 2023 at 12:57
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  • Olly Darcy
  • Editor

Red Bull designer Adrian Newey said he did feel nervous when Max Verstappen decided to go for the fastest race lap at the end of the Austrian Grand Prix, he tells the F1 Nation Podcast.

The Brit thought everything was in the bag until Verstappen asked over the team radio for a new set of tyres. For the team, the Dutchman's attempt was of no added value: "It didn't make any difference to our constructors' score, because Sergio (Perez, ed.) already had the fastest lap, so yeah, I was a little bit nervous" says Newey.

Third title for Verstappen?

Still, the mastermind behind the RB19 was not surprised by the two-time world champion's request: "That's Max. You can't take that away from him." Perhaps that is precisely Verstappen's strength. "He always wants to go for everything," concludes the aerodynamics specialist. However, a third world title for the already two-time world champion is not yet a certainty according to Newey: "In 1999 (at McLaren, ed.) we were leading going into Silverstone. Michael Schumacher had his accident, and Mika Hakkinen was well in the lead, and it went down to the wire."