Max Verstappen heaped praise on Shane van Gisbergen after the Australian Supercars champion won his first start in NASCAR last weekend.
Van Gisbergen triumphed on his debut in America’s most popular racing series, which was making its first visit to a street circuit. He qualified third on the grid and passed series regular Justin Haley to clinch victory in Chicago.
Verstappen described how he stayed up on Sunday evening following his victory in the Austrian Grand Prix to watch his friend and fellow Team Redline driver become the first person in 60 years to win on their debut in NASCAR.
“I stayed awake to watch it, I’ve never felt so nervous in my life watching someone else race and trying to win it,” said Verstappen. “I was literally screaming in front of the TV or like my monitor for him to win.”
Van Gisbergen, a three-times series in Australian Supercars (formerly V8 Supercars), impressed Verstappen with how well he adapted to the unfamiliar NASCAR Cup car.
“That’s really, really impressive to jump in a car you don’t know,” said the Red Bull driver. “They’re very hard cars to drive and he just goes in there and he absolutely dominates the race.
“I know he’s a great driver, I know what he’s capable of and I know how good he is at different kind of disciplines. I mean, he’s great of course at V8s [Supercars], that’s what he knows, but he’s great in a rally car as well and clearly he’s great in a NASCAR as well.
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“That’s Shane. He’s a crazy right-foot braker still.”
The Red Bull driver admitted he can’t emulate Van Gisbergen’s unusual driving technique which allows him to achieve rapid lap times while minimising his fuel consumption.
“I see it all the time on the simulator. He’s also part of Team Redline and sometimes we race together.
“It’s quite insane that he’s that fast with that technique. But it’s also very good on fuel, for example, the way he drives. It’s interesting, I mean, I can’t do it, but he grew up like that.”
Verstappen said he messaged Van Gisbergen “immediately” after his win. “He responded a bit late because of course he had a big party, which was far enough.”
However Verstappen admitted he wouldn’t want to try a NASCAR race himself. “It’s not my style,” he said. “I like watching, I think it’s really, really cool and I was happy for Shane. I’m happy to maybe go there and just have a beer myself and enjoy the show.”
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