How Max Verstappen found F1 inspiration in football legend Johan Cruyff

Max Verstappen

How Verstappen found F1 inspiration in football legend Cruyff

It's all about keeping it simple.

Matthew Scott

Saturday 3 August 2019 08:34 Updated: 01:03

Max Verstappen says Dutch football icon Johan Cruyff has provided him with greater inspiration than any motorsport star as he plots his own route to dominating Formula 1.

While his father, former F1 racer Jos, has been a guiding hand throughout his journey to the top, Verstappen says the simplicity with which Cruyff dominated football as a player and a coach has helped shape his approach to F1.

Cruyff remains a national icon in the Netherlands, territory that Verstappen continues to move towards as he begins to play an ever-more prominent role at the sharp end of F1.

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However, the Red Bull driver says his methods have hardly changed since his formative racing days compared to now at the pinnacle of motorsport.

"Cruyff didn't overcomplicate things," Verstappen told the Telegraph.

"Ultimately, football is played with a ball and feet. I see F1 like that. I need to jump in the car and drive as fast as I can. I have a throttle, a brake pedal and a steering wheel.

"Saying that you need to be at the perfect body temperature, or that you need to drink exactly the right amount of water, I hate that stuff.

"I'm not doing anything differently from when I was in go-karting. I just love driving fast.

"All these theories, they don't mean anything to me. I try to be as straightforward as I can."

Verstappen has won two of the last three races ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, an event Red Bull typically have impressed in as the twisty nature of the Hungaroring has wiped out some of the engine deficit that Red Bull have had to their rivals in recent years.

However, with Honda now onboard, Red Bull have found an extra gear in recent weeks, prompting world champion, and standings leader Lewis Hamilton to suggest that Red Bull may now be the quickest team in F1 once again at certain venues.