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Former F1 race strategist Bernie Collins revealed that members of her former team, Force India, had a dim view of Max Verstappen back when she was still working at the Silverstone-based team. The analyst from Northern Ireland spent seven years at the team which was rebranded to Racing Point in 2019 and then again to Aston Martin in 2021.
Bernie Collins, who now works as a pundit on Sky Sports, remembered the times back in the mid 2010s, when she was working at Force India and Max Verstappen was breaking through at Red Bull. Speaking on the Indo Sport Podcast recently, the 37-year-old revealed that the opinion of the Dutch driver within her team was that he would 'never be world champion'.
"The Max of old a few years ago, there was a time when people said, I heard people at the team when I was working at the time, Max will never be world champion. He was making a lot of mistakes, he was crashing the car, he was very aggressive, not putting the best together. He’s matured so much in the last few years," said Collins (via PlanetF1).
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"It’s easy to forget that there was a time when people thought ‘he’s not going to win’ because he wasn’t getting the best out of the car. Now he’s matured to the point of being calm, not being aggressive, not crashing with other drivers. He has brought it together, and that’s what’s making him a great driver," she added.
Max Verstappen claimed his first F1 world championship in 2021, in what was practically his first outing in a championship-competing car. He has since gone on to win three more championships, in as many years, in a dominant manner, breaking numerous records on the way.
Honda Racing boss expresses wish to join forces with Max Verstappen in the future
Honda Racing president Koji Watanabe recently shared his wish to work with Max Verstappen again in the future, as the Japanese team move away from Red Bull at the end of the season. Honda will be delivering power units to Aston Martin from 2026 onwards, a team which has been touted as one of the reigning F1 world champion's potential future destinations.
Speaking to De Telegraaf recently, Watanabe expressed his hopes of once again working with the Dutch driver in the future.
"First of all, we are doing everything we can to help him get his fifth World title this year. And after that, our focus is on our partnership with Aston Martin," said Watanabe (via PlanetF1).
“But I must honestly say that I hope that one day an opportunity will present itself again for Honda to work with Max Verstappen. I sincerely hope so," he added.
The two key reasons why Aston Martin is being considered as a potential destination for the 4x world champion are the arrivals of Adrian Newey and Honda at Silverstone. If such a move transpires in the future, Verstappen could well be heading to the team that Bernie Collins revealed to have had a dim view of him in the past, although it is now completely rebranded.
