"I would just do it exactly like I have done" - Max Verstappen will have no advice for his younger self

Max Verstappen has no regrets about how his F1 career has played out so far. The Dutchman admitted that, if given the option, he would tell his younger self to emulate him in the same way.

The 2021 F1 World Drivers' Champion's rise to the top has been astronomical, making him one of the hottest commodities in the sport today. Verstappen has, however, made his fair share of mistakes along the way and taken away key lessons from each one of them.

In an interview on an episode of The Edge podcast, the 24-year-old was asked if he had any advice for his younger self after becoming the fourth-youngest F1 world champion of all time. Verstappen said:

“If I would have to give my younger self any advice, I wouldn’t. I would just do it exactly like I have done at the moment, because you need to make mistakes to become a better person. If you keep preventing, let’s say, a ‘young Max’ from [making] mistakes, he’s not learning, because you do need to make mistakes to actually learn.”

The Red Bull driver went on to add, saying:

“People can tell you 100 times, ‘Do not do this, do not do that’, but you will make [mistakes] and it’s good to make them. It hurts, it really hits you, and I think these particular moments are good for your career, because sometimes that will drive you to be your better self.”

Verstappen is currently P2 in the 2022 F1 World Drivers' Championship standings with 85 points and three wins in the first five races of the season.

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"You have difficult moments and setbacks and you learn from it" - Max Verstappen on turning setbacks into lessons

Earlier this year, Max Verstappen emphasized the importance of learning from mistakes and growing from setbacks after a turbulent start to the 2022 F1 season.

The Dutchman was forced to retire from two of the first three races of the season, owing to reliability issues with his car.

In a video for Red Bull's sponsor Bybit, Max Verstappen elaborated on the challenges faced by his team and how they have taken them as lessons. The 24-year-old said:

“I think it’s a constant progression of working together with the team around you. You get more and more experience of the situations you have been in. Of course, it is never one straight lineup, you have difficult moments and setbacks and you learn from it and I think, at the end of the day, you need to make mistakes or have setbacks to ultimately become a better individual.”

After winning back-to-back races at Imola and Miami, Verstappen will be hoping that the momentum helps him make it three in a row at the 2022 F1 Spanish GP later this weekend on a track where he scored his maiden F1 win back in 2016.