Max Verstappen is often spotted with a can of Red Bull in his hand. While many believe it to be because of his association with Red Bull Racing, the real reason finds its traces in his childhood. The Dutchman reminisced on the memories in a recent interview with The Fast And The Curious’ Christian Hewgill.
Verstappen said, “Before I even signed to Red Bull, I used to have like, one or two here and there, you know, whenever. Or traveling with my dad in the van, you know, when you have long nights to cover. But then, of course, when you sign with them, it’s for free. So, you can take as much as you want.”
max saying while at work he drinks like 3 redbulls a day, but that he’s grown used to it because even before he drove for redbull he’d drink them!!!! “its for free” ofc u r dutch pic.twitter.com/50HyiS52l5
— nini (@SCUDERIAFEMBOY) May 3, 2024
During his karting days, Max Verstappen traveled to different circuits with his parents in a van. On many occasions, the family traveled across the border to Belgium for the race and returned by road.
Given the long distances they had to travel, a young Max needed something to keep himself awake. Hence, those Red Bull cans most likely resulted in him developing a tolerance to the high amounts of caffeine. In the interview, Verstappen admitted that he easily goes through three cans of the energy drink in a day.
When Hewgill interjected with shock, recalling his own jittery struggles after such high doses, the Dutchman narrated the story of his association with Red Bull. The tolerance to caffeine has reached such high levels that coffee is not his preferred drink to wake up with.
Max Verstappen wakes up with a can of Red Bull
In a video on his YouTube channel in 2020, Max Verstappen let his dislike known for hot beverages. Those include tea and coffee.
As far as tea goes, Verstappen admitted he tries to drink it but does not really like it. But for coffee, it’s a clear no.
In the Dutchman’s own words, “coffee almost makes me hurl.” This is the reason why he jokingly admitted that he started his day with Red Bull and not coffee.
Nutrition, however, is of utmost importance in an F1 driver’s life. They pay extra attention to what goes into their body and maintain a training regime.
As each pound slows them and their car down, maintaining optimum weight is the least a team expects from its driver. This is the reason why Max Verstappen skips breakfast, which many regard as the most important meal of the day.
In the video mentioned above, he confessed to operating right on the weight limit which he quoted to be 74-75 kg (approximately 163-166 lbs). He also cited the same to be the reason why he has to pay extra attention to his diet.
