‘The most important thing…' – Max Verstappen reveals the blueprint for team-mates to BREAK infamous Red Bull curse
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MAX VERSTAPPEN has revealed the blueprint to break the daunting curse of being his Formula One team-mate.
Verstappen, 27, is a four-time F1 world champion with Red Bull.
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Max Verstappen has revealed the blueprint to how to break the curse of racing alongside him at Red Bull
Credit: Getty
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Verstappen revealed the plan in Viaplay documentary - 10 Years of Max Verstappen
Credit: Viaplay
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Yuki Tsunoda, right, will need to heed the advice to avoid the same fate as previous Verstappen team-mates like Sergio Perez, left, or Liam Lawson
Credit: Getty
However, his team-mates during his time with the outfit have often failed to live up to expectations and rival the Dutchman.
But speaking on a new Viaplay documentary celebrating his first decade in F1 - 10 Years of Max Verstappen - he has now revealed how anyone who drives next to him can overcome that curse.
He said: "How I would deal with it [racing with me]? Try not to think about it too much you know. It's always important to focus on yourself.
"That's what I've done when I've entered new teams or had to go up against team-mates.
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"So that's the only thing that you can control and influence so that's why it's always the most important thing to look at yourself."
Verstappen was promoted to the Red Bull senior team from Toro Rosso in 2016, and became the youngest ever Grand Prix winner at 18 years and 228 days in his debut race.
But dating back to 2016, Verstappen's team-mate have often endured a tumultuous time.
Daniel Ricciardo was the first to fall in the Verstappen test when he quit the team to join Renault in 2019.
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Verstappen's next team-mate was Pierre Gasly in 2019, who only lasted half a season before he was swapped for Alex Albon.
Albon fared little better in the 2019 and 2020 seasons before he too was replaced by Sergio Perez in 2021.
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The Mexican managed the tricky Red Bull car the best during his three seasons behind the wheel, managing to win five races with the team before a disastrous final season saw him axed.
Rookie Liam Lawson then joined the team for the start of the 2025 season, but he lasted only two races - in which he never came close to scoring points - before he too was replaced.
Yuki Tsunoda is now the incumbent of the most cursed seat in modern F1, but managed to score two points in his second race in Bahrain before an unfortunate retirement at the Saudi Arabia.
Verstappen missed media duties on Thursday due to the expected birth of his first child with partner Kelly Piquet. The due date is May 6 - two days after this weekend's Miami Grand Prix in Florida.
But SunSport understands Verstappen delayed his flight out to the United States to be at home with Kelly in Monaco.
Kelly also has a daughter, Penelope, from a previous relationship with ex-F1 star Daniil Kvyat, who Verstappen has a very close bond with.
Although it was reported his private jet was seen leaving an airport in Nice on Thursday morning, and Red Bull insist he will be expected to complete his racing duties this weekend.
His future next year has been cast into doubt though after he was tipped to take a year out from the sport by an unnamed F1 driver.
And in the documentary Verstappen declared it was "not fun being famous" and revealed the one thing he wishes he was able to do but can't due to his career in the spotlight.
The ace, who earns a cool £52million a year, said: "It's not fun to be famous, I prefer to be unknown. But I know that's part of F1 especially when you do well.
"Of course I would sometimes like to be able to walk around with your family and friends and not be known, but unfortunately that's not the case anymore."
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