Four world championships, and Max Verstappen's edge comes down to one habit most drivers never master.
'It's also important to be able to switch off from F1 to being a family man and doing other projects that I enjoy outside of F1,' Verstappen told RacingNews365. 'Of course Red Bull has always been very supportive of that.'
Red Bull granted Verstappen explicit permission to race outside his F1 commitments, including a start in the 2025 24 Hours of Nurburgring.
Verstappen names three pillars for staying sharp: working with good people, a stable home life, and the freedom to disconnect from racing entirely.
That freedom survived Red Bull's biggest internal shift in years.
Christian Horner departed the team in July 2025 after more than a decade as Team Principal, replaced by Laurent Mekies, who moved up from Racing Bulls.
'Yeah, very good, the relationship with Laurent has been very good from the start,' Verstappen said. 'I knew him from before, so there were no startup problems or issues.'
Verstappen describes Mekies as actively fighting to improve the team's overall structure - a signal that the transition carried ambition, not just continuity.
'I appreciate how much he is fighting, pushing and really trying to improve the overall structure of the team,' Verstappen added. 'I have a really nice time with him.'
Over a decade at Red Bull built the infrastructure around Verstappen that makes the detachment possible - and now a new team principal is testing whether that structure holds deep into the 2026 season.
