Maximum impact: Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on the secret behind his winning mentality

Note: This is an excerpt from Tempus’s new issue starring Max Verstappen. To access the full story, read along and grab a copy of the new issue available now.

Wearing blue jeans, a blue cap and a navy polo that’s loud with the livery and logos of the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team, Max Verstappen is sitting cool and collected in a deck chair in Monaco. The four-time F1 world champion is looking as relaxed as ever, blending into the back-drop of Monaco’s famed Port Hercules, with its backdrop of Belle Époque architecture and terracotta roofs pitched towards a Mediterranean sky of dusky pinks and purples. Sailing boats, cruise ships and superyachts bob on the horizon behind him.

It’s nearly 6pm after qualifying day at the Formula 1 TAG Heuer Grand Prix de Monaco when Tempus sits down with the Dutch driver. Max first won the historic race in 2021, then went on to defend that title in 2023 against Fernando Alonso through wet and unpredictable conditions – and now he’s fresh from the latest qualifying race, coming in at fourth place (but in fact had earned fifth, only to be elevated after a penalty on British rival driver Sir Lewis Hamilton, but that’s another story…).Tomorrow is race day and Max Verstappen is talking about pressure. Or rather, the lack of pressure.

“I don’t really think about it too much,” he says. “I always have the same kind of mindset before I go into a weekend. I just see what happens [and] am quite relaxed about it all. I’m confident that when I sit in the car I’ll extract the most I can out of it… I know how to prepare myself in the best way possible. Some weekends go better than others, that’s something that you have to accept.”

If the 27-year-old champion sounds almost unfazed about preparing for what is FI’s most glamorous and high-profile race, that’s because his runaway success and experience seems completely and seamlessly entwined with his being. His stardom feels as if destined from day one. Born in Hasselt, Belgium to the son of former F1 driver Jos Verstappen and ultra-cool karting mum Sophie, the Dutch-Belgian racing driver had an early career imprinted with a succession of firsts and frankly eve-popping wow-moments. At age eight, Verstappen hit his first major competition with the mini category championships, where he won all 21 karting races in Belgium. By 16 he was turning heads with whiplash-like effect, debuting at the FIA F3 European championship where, after winning his sixth race, went on to score an incredible six consecutive victories, placing him third in the overall ranking. At 17, Max was Formula 1’s youngest ever competitor – and became the youngest ever race winner at the age of 18 years and 228 days.

Still a teenager in 2016, and following his victory in Spain, Max was promoted only after four races from Scuderia Toro Rosso to the main Red Bull Racing team. His star continued its ascent, with the dominating, career-defining years of 2022 and 2023, followed by a strong title defence in 2024.

Today, the four-time world champion is nipping at the heels of legendary record holders Juan Manuel Fangio, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, and boasts 45 pole positions, 66 Grand Prix wins, 119 podium finishes and more than 3,200 career points to his name.TIMING IS EVERYTHING

This year Max is coming up to 10 years with Red Bull Racing, which he says is a place where, “I can just be myself, which is most important.” To him, the team feels like family. “You build up friendships and relationships with a lot of people that have been part of the team for a long time.”

Adding to that extended family is the Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer. Max is, fittingly, wearing his square-shaped TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Second chronograph, a special customised watch that was gifted to the driver during the Monaco Grand Prix last year. An avant-garde timepiece both inside and out, the chronograph features a sophisticated rattrapante complication and comes encased in ultra-light grade-5 titanium with wall-to-wall sapphire for extra visibility and ergonomy, not to mention ultra-cool good looks. 

The watch’s two subdials have been notably customised, which required 12 hours of work. Etched on the chronograph hour display are the words “World Champion” and three stars, representing 2021, 2022 and 2023, the years Verstappen held the title (the sapphire dial also features his number: 1).Meanwhile the minute counter features his name, paired with a subtle rendering of his beloved symbol of a lion’s head.

“I’m very proud to wear this watch, it’s very iconic,” says Max. “Plus of course there’s the people you’ve worked with along the way, between TAG Heuer and the team. This is a partnership that’s always been very nice, open and enjoyable – we’ve done some cool things.” 

TAG Heuer this year has notably upped the ante on its F1 partnership. After being Official Timekeeper of the sport in the 1990s, the esteemed brand has resumed that role this year – as its parent company LVMH has signed a decade-long global partnership with F1, taking over from Rolex. And all this in the year that Formula 1 celebrates its 75th anniversary.

TAG Heuer is timing all 24 races in the 21 countries on the F1 circuit, but there is something uniquely mythical about Monaco in particular, says Antoine Pin, TAG Heuer’s chief executive. Speaking on the eve of the Monaco race, Antoine explains there is of course the glamour of Monte-Carlo itself, but also the TAG Heuer Monaco watch, which was first immortalised by Steve McQueen in the 1971 motor racing film Le Mans.And, continues Antoine: “We are also celebrating Formula 1, which probably is the most mythical modern sport today, where drivers are fundamentally the modern heroes of chivalry. They are defying that at every moment, ready to push their limits.”

TAG Heuer is marking its evolving role in F1 with a new tagline, ‘Designed to Win’, which Antoine points out is about celebrating the potential to accomplish success. The idea speaks to crafting and exploiting one’s capabilities and talents to achieve a goal – something that Max embodies naturally.

With the race set for the following day, how important is winning to Max? His reply is contemplative and balanced, much like the man himself: “Everyone likes winning but, when you’re not winning, I think you have to understand why. Or how it happened,” he says.

“At the end of the day, that’s what this sport is about… everyone is here to try and win.” (The Dutchman would go on to take fourth place in Monaco, followed by a summer of podium wins in Montreal, his home turf in Zandvoort, and Monza. Singapore is up next in October).

Read the full interview in our new issue and check out more culture stories with Tempus