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Nicholas praises Verstappen: 'The media doesn't understand that'
Calum Nicholas has built a big platform himself, as the Red Bull mechanic is hugely followed on social media. At a point, the member of the team tried to remind Nicholas how he could became more famous, but the Briton pushed back, he explained.
Calum Nicholas has been working for Red Bull Racing for some time, and before hand, he also worked in series like GP3, F3 and the European Le Mans series. The Briton explained that during that time period, he has never worked with someone who was not 'a white European man'. He is know a well-known figure in the paddock, and especially on social media. He has recently tried out another profession: Being a writer.
Nicholas to Red Bull: 'Let's be honest here...'
The mechanic explained that he was given a 'friendly warning' by a member of the team, reminding him how he was able to build his platform. To that he responded: "If we’re being really honest here, I have my platform because both yourselves and Netflix decided to leverage my ethnicity to make the team appear to the public as more ethnically diverse. If the company wants to try and take all the credit for my social media following, are you also prepared to take responsibility for the daily racial abuse I receive? You can’t have it both ways, so which is it?’," he explained to The Guardian.
On the other hand, Red Bull's communication team were supportive of Nicholas' next book, he explained. Paul Smith, who is now the head of the team's communication's department, only asked for a read, but told Nicholas he has his support: “They’ve been incredible. I couldn’t have asked for a better reaction."
Nicholas also appreciates the way the team gives Max Verstappen space to remain himself. "Max is one of us in the team. He’s just way more talented. ou see the way people react to Max and they don’t understand that we love his blunt honesty. We’re in a sport where PR is everything," he said about the defending world champion.
"All the drivers have their media training but I really like the fact that the team give Max the freedom to express his genuine opinions. It’s not necessarily about berating anyone else, and Max is perfectly able to be self-critical, but he’s just going to be honest about it. That’s refreshing in sport," the mechanic concluded.
This article was written in collaboration with Sandy van Wijngaarden
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