Despite $3,000,000,000 Coffers, Max Verstappen’s Close Aide Ready to Join Brooks Koepka for Next to Nothing

One of the biggest shocks to come out of the sporting world these past few months has been the merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. This came out of nowhere, considering the two organizations were at each other’s throats for quite some time. That was until the Saudi-backed Public Investment Fund invested $3 billion in LIV Golf to enable the merger with PGA—a move that benefitted both sides but created controversy, anyway. When LIV came into the picture in 2021, PGA superstar Brooks Koepka was one of the first ones to jump ship to chase a paycheck of around $100 million. And from the looks of it, one of Max Verstappen’s closest allies could be joining Koepka in LIV.

Besides its dominance in the past couple of seasons, Red Bull is known for its unbelievably fast pit stops. And one of the technicians who helped Verstappen achieve the world record for the fastest pit stop (1.82 seconds) could ditch Formula 1 for LIV Golf. Well, ditch is a strong word. Red Bull’s power-unit assembly technician Calum Nicholas wouldn’t ditch the team he loves for anything. But if he had to make a living any other way, it would be through golf.

On the latest episode of the Track Limits Podcast, Nicholas opened up about personal goals outside F1. He said, “My only other love growing up was music. I always thought that maybe if I wasn’t in this, I’d want to do something in the music industry.” While blaring music in the Red Bull garage (which Lewis Hamilton hates) could be his doing, he also revealed his passion for golf. Nicholas explained, “In terms of other projects outside of racing, I’d love to play golf for a living. I’m going to have to talk to the LIV Golf guys. Maybe I could find a little slot on there.” 

Read More: After Serena Williams Jumps Onboard to Aid Tiger Woods Against $3,000,000,000 Shock, Will Lewis Hamilton Follow His “Best Friend” to the Same?

He continued, “I wouldn’t need much money. If I could just do that for a living, that’d probably be the only other thing that I’d really want to do.” He also mentioned how he isn’t too good at golf despite liking it so much. Good for him that LIV isn’t an individual event. Rather, teams of four compete against each other. So Nicholas will have people looking out for him. As much as he would love to have been a golfer, he’s loyal to F1, Red Bull, and Max Verstappen in more ways than one. And he showed his support for Verstappen by standing by a belief the Dutchman has.

Calum Nicholas agrees with Max Verstappen about the “hectic” F1 life

The F1 calendar is growing every year, and with the monster 24-race calendar for 2024, life will be even more demanding for F1 drivers than it already is. Even more so for their mechanics and team personnel. When F1 announced the calendar, Verstappen was one of the first to express his disregard for it, saying, “It is too many [races] for me, but we just have to deal with it.” And Calum Nicholas agreed with him while discussing downtime during the summer break.

Nicholas explained, “On the one hand, it’s always nice to get some more time with family [during the summer break]. The season’s so busy, especially later in the year. So it’s nice to have a little bit of time now. On the other hand, you kind of want to just keep up the momentum once you’re into the season. You just get them done, get the next one done. The sooner you get on with it, the sooner you’re back in the wind tunnel.” With Red Bull having won all 12 races so far, Nicholas would’ve loved to keep the streak going. But everyone needs a break, and Nicholas and Red Bull are looking to come back stronger.

Watch This Story: GOATs Lewis Hamilton & Tom Brady face off in friendly golf challenge in Miami

Would you like to see Calum Nicholas make waves in LIV Golf just like he does in F1?