Max Verstappen has left a DTM engineer in awe after once again demonstrating his all-round talent as a driver in a documentary about the Red Bull driver.
In the Viaplay programme ‘Verstappen – Off The Beaten Track’, the 26-year-old Dutchman will test Thierry Vermeulen’s Ferrari 296 DTM at Mugello, the Italian track that hosted a single F1 race in 2020.
Vermeulen drives for Emil Frey Racing, with Graziano Michelacci as head of track engineering.
Although Verstappen is a three-time F1 champion, his achievement still left Michelacci in awe.
“I usually know what’s going to happen with certain drivers, but this was really unexpected,” Michelacci said in the documentary.
“He improved his lap times in a way that doesn’t exist in real life. Even if you expect something like this from Verstappen, you’re still surprised.”
The engineer continued: “Stories like this are the ones you share later when you’re driving around with your friends in a truck.”
It wasn’t just Michelacci who amazed Verstappen, Vermeulen was also impressed by what the 26-year-old had achieved.
While Vermeulen pointed out that any driver can achieve a fast lap time, what sets Verstappen apart is his ability to do it instantly.
“Everyone can drive a fast lap at some point, but he has the ability to do it so quickly,” Vermeulen said.
“Even though he was driving a new car, he was able to problem solve and use all his talent and experience to drive faster immediately.”