“Sh*t, if this happened to me, they would have…”: Max Verstappen shares how Dilano van ‘t Hoff’s sister’s tribute affected him

Reigning F1 world champion Max Verstappen shared his thoughts about Dilano van 't Hoff's fatal crash, which brought the shuddering reality of the dangers of the sport to his mind.

Van 't Hoff was a budding driver who was killed in a fatal accident in wet conditions at Spa Francorchamps in July, weeks before the Belgian GP. The Dutch driver was racing in a Formula Regional European race when the incident consumed his life in the notorious Raidillon section.

Max Verstappen and several other F1 drivers paid tribute to the lost talent, with the Red Bull driver revealing that Van 't Hoff's sister replied to his message. The interaction provoked distressing thoughts in his mind, as opened up about the incident in an interview with Formula.nl.

"When news of Dilano's accident came out, I had sent out a message via social media. Moments later I saw that Dilano's sister had responded under my post: 'Max, you were his great example. Thanks for this post.'," he said

"That reaction did something to me. Then I immediately think of my family. Then you think of: S**t, if this had happened to me, they would have... Then you think: F**k." he added.

Max Verstappen also believes that young drivers take more risks in the junior categories of racing. He added he himself was a fearless racer during his time in Formula 3 but now thinks about the consequences more often.

"What could happen if... At the time you never thought about that, you drove purely on instinct. I'm not talking about Dilano now, because he was hit by someone else, but in general, as a junior driver you take more wild risks than at a later age," Verstappen explained.

Verstappen added that Van 't Hoff's accident has changed his thought process and risk assessment while racing.

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Max Verstappen admits to putting pressure on himself in pursuit of perfection

The two-time F1 world champion is putting on a record-breaking season en route to his third world championship. Max Verstappen has either finished first or second in the 12 races this season, with 10 wins and the rest P2 finishes.

As Verstappen and Red Bull strive towards a near-perfect 2023 season, the Dutchman admits that success doesn't come easy.

When asked about the secret to his consistent form, Verstappen told Formula 1:

“I don’t know, I just put a lot of pressure on myself to try and deliver what I can. The team does that as well, they always want to be as good as they can be.

“Of course, some races look easier than others, sometimes it just clicks a bit easier, but I think that is the strength of the team, we always want to do the best we can, we always want to improve. That’s why we are doing so well at the moment.”

The 25-year-old is currently on an eight-race win streak, one short of Sebastian Vettel's record of nine consecutive wins. Verstappen is expected to match the former Red Bull champion as F1 returns to Zandvoort after the summer break.