Already a world champion at the age of 24, Max Verstappen is well on his way to a second title this season. But what is the secret to being a great driver? The Dutchman spoke in a video posted by Hugo Decrypts about the difference between a good and a great driver.

At just 24 years old, Max Verstappen is already one of the best having won his first world championship title last season and will likely be crowned again this year. In a video posted by Hugo Decrypte on his YouTube channel, the RedBull driver answered some questions from the young journalist about the difference between a good and a very good driver.

While Max Verstappen is already one of the greatest drivers, Hugo Décrypte wanted to know more about what it feels like to be behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car and more precisely what the sensations are. For the Dutchman, the answer is difficult to explain and he compares single-seaters to sports cars.

“To be honest it’s very difficult to explain because I don’t think there is anything really comparable, nothing that allows you to experience the same thing. You can feel it in a sports car, but you need grip and the cars are heavier because of the two people on board.”

Having entered Formula 1 at just 17, Max Verstappen has been timid behind the wheel of a single-seater, although he does need to be more cautious when the conditions are more difficult.

“Of course the conditions are difficult and it can be dangerous, you have to be a bit more careful. But it’s not really fear. But you see, it’s the same when you drive on a wet road and the visibility is bad.”

While people often judge a driver by his car, the question was put to Max Verstappen and the answer is more than obvious to the Dutchman.

“There is no doubt that in F1 it is important to have a very good car. There are a lot of good drivers, but if you don’t have the right car you can’t win the championship,

“The gap in the level of the teams is also huge when you see only three teams out of the ten competing for victory,

“In F1 you usually have a big rule change every four or five years. Maybe we should stop that and then the level of all the teams would slowly get closer.”

The car has a big part to play in the performance of the drivers, but the drivers are also very important. Max Verstappen took the liberty of explaining how team managers manage to spot a very good driver.

“After that I think the driver also plays a big role. Where a driver makes the difference is when the conditions are difficult, when there is competition with another team, when you really fight,

“It’s in those scenarios that the difference is made. Otherwise, there are so many good drivers in the world, even outside F1.”

Max Verstappen explained the difference between a good and a very good driver in Formula 1:

“But for those in F1, the difference between the good and the very good is in the decisive moments. If, for example, there is a race in the rain, or in very difficult conditions more generally, or in decisive qualifying, that’s when you can make the difference, or score just a bit more points than your teammate for example.”