Max Verstappen 'freak' behaviour caused tension with Mercedes

Verstappen in Barcelona — Photo: © IMAGO

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen 'freak' behaviour caused tension with Mercedes

Renger Van der Zande has called Verstappen a 'freak'

By Brian Van Hinthum.

Friday 19 June 2026 13:00

Dutch racer Renger van der Zande has described four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen as an absolute 'freak' when it comes to his technical approach and his drive to extract every last drop of performance from his equipment.

The driver, fresh off his participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans last weekend, believes that Verstappen pushes himself - and his team - to the very limits in pursuit of every competitive edge.

Verstappen has been struggling in F1 this year, with sweeping new engine regulations upending the season, and causing his Red Bull team to suffer balance issues.

Article continues under video

Red Bull are currently fourth in the constructors' championship, while Verstappen is languishing down in seventh place in the drivers' championship, trailing the leader Kimi Antonelli by 101 points already after seven race weekends.

But Verstappen has been enjoying other racing series so far this year, taking part in multiple GT3 races at the Nurburgring Nordschleife, including the iconic 24 Hours of Nurburgring race.

Verstappen's GT3 team use Mercedes cars, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.

F1 HEADLINES: Verstappen 'makes Mercedes decision' as exit clause confirmed

Verstappen's unique setup choices

Van der Zande recently spoke with an insider from the racing world who witnessed Verstappen’s relentless approach firsthand at the GT program on the Nordschleife.

"I spoke to someone at Le Mans who is very closely involved with Max’s GT program at the Nordschleife," Van der Zande revealed to Ziggo Sport on their Race Cafe programme.

"That person said, 'He’s a freak. He goes to extremes to really squeeze every last bit out of people, technology, and even the shock absorbers'.

"At one point, Max showed up with a box of shock absorbers he’d gotten from someone he knows in France. Then he said, 'We’re going to race with these shock absorbers'.

"So AMG was totally pissed off: 'We don’t want this, because we normally drive with - I’ll just say - Bilstein', or a German brand in any case."

Van der Zande sees a clear parallel between Verstappen and his father, Jos Verstappen. Van der Zande recalled how the family was always willing to go the extra mile for even the slightest advantage on the track.

"He’s just like his dad," he continued. "In the old days, you’d call Jos on a Friday during a race weekend in southern Italy if you heard about a carburettor that could make the car run just a fraction faster - he’d hop in the car in the middle of the night to get it.

"That relentless pursuit of perfection is a family trait, and it’s clearly alive in Max."

F1 Max Verstappen Mercedes