Max Verstappen opens up on how his key trait was often a bone of contention between him and his father

Max Verstappen has opened up on how his ability to just shrug things off and let the pieces fall in place used to cause arguments between him and his father Jos. The Dutch driver has shown an uncanny ability to focus on what's important and not give much attention to the noise around him while he's driving.

This was one of the highlights of his 2024 F1 season when Red Bull was going through complete turmoil. At the time, Max Verstappen made sure that his focus was always going to be on the races and his championship. At the start of the season, there were a few hiccups in races like Hungary, when he realized that the car was not as good, but soon after, the 27-year-old was ensuring to capitalize on every opportunity he had in the car.

Talking to F1.com this week, Max Verstappen discussed how his ability to remain composed and not fixate on the outcomes prompted a lot of discussions between him and Jos Verstappen in the past. According to Max, his father would often say that this was not the right attitude.

"That was always a discussion I had with my father when I was a child," Max Verstappen said (as quoted by RacingNews365). "I often had those moments when I shouted 'yeah, whatever, we'll see'. He would say 'what do you mean, we'll see? That's not an attitude, is it?' But that's who I am. I don't like to stress about things, or to make things unnecessarily complicated or to think about things too much."

This ability was also on display in 2021 when Verstappen was under severe pressure in the title fight against Lewis Hamilton. The Dutch was also facing a lot of criticism from different corners for his driving standards. However, he shrugged all of that off his shoulders and continued to maintain his performance levels.

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Max Verstappen opens up on not wanting to 'overwhelm' his brain with too much information

Explaining why he's adopted such an approach, Max Verstappen said that he didn't want to overwhelm himself and fry his brain with too much information on things that he didn't have much control over. Whenever he put the helmet on, he'd get tunnel-visioned about the track and block out all the external noise.

"I know, when I get into a kart or any car, actually as soon as I put on my helmet, that I am on top of it," Verstappen said (via the aforementioned source). "That keeps me with both feet on the ground. I am very calm and level-headed about that."

Adding how his father's input in pushing him out of his shell was also something that shaped his personality as a driver, Max added:

"I just don't want to overwhelm my brain with thoughts about how I can influence certain things. But I also needed that push when I was a kid and I'm glad my dad gave it to me because it made me the driver I am today."

Max Verstappen would be attempting to win his 5th consecutive title this season, a feat only Michael Schumacher has achieved in F1.