Yesterday at 08:20
Max Verstappen created a 'unique' simulator layout of the Jeddah
Corniche Circuit ahead of the inaugural Saudi Arabian GP to try and
steal a march on rival Lewis Hamilton, his former trainer has
revealed. Verstappen headed to F1's first Saudi GP in 2021 with a
chance of becoming world champion for the first time if he
out-scored Hamilton by 18 points, but usual preparation for a new
grand prix was delayed owing to the late completion of the track.
This meant simulator runs for drivers were not possible, but
Verstappen's former trainer Bradley Scanes has explained how the
Dutchman had a personalised version of the track created so he
could practice. "Max often gets branded as this natural talent, but
there's a reason why he goes out in FP1 and sets purple after
purple after purple [sectors], whilst other drivers set up," Scanes
told the High Performance Podcast. "It is because he's been
practicing the track for hours and hours in the week leading up to
the race. "The first year that we went to Saudi Arabia [in 2021],
is that nobody could get a handle on that circuit for FP1, and Max
just kept going purple, purple, purple, and it is a difficult
track. "Red Bull didn't even have the simulator version of the
track in their simulator, and Max had managed to find someone
online to build out what the track looked like to put into his own
simulator. "This is sort of the work ethic, the differences that
make champions. This is 2021, we're in a title fight, every little
bit matters, and ultimately, we didn't win Saudi for a number of
reasons, but you could see the pace when he first set off.
"Actually, his qualifying lap before he pinged the wall [in Q3]
could have probably gone down as one of the greatest ever."
