“It’s always the tough guys who are soft from within.” This phrase fits perfectly for Max Verstappen. The Dutch driver faces flak all the time for being cold and ruthless. But those are for his rivals on the track. You will also hear critics calling Verstappen the ‘PR team’s nightmare’. Thanks to his unfiltered and direct approach to matters, the Red Bull star is more disliked and revered.

However, Max Verstappen doesn’t pay much heed to his detractors. He always says he’s there to win and not pay attention to the ‘nonsense’. Moreover, the Dutchman has the steering wheel of the F1 circus. Despite Red Bull’s decreased dominance, the ‘Flying Dutchman’ remains on the top, 78 points ahead of Lando Norris. Keeping aside his racing prowess, what makes Max Verstappen so special?

Max Verstappen’s rare expression of kindness moved the F1 pundit and presenter Will Buxton

F1 presenter, Will Buxton shares with F1MAXIMAAL.nl, his thoughts on Verstappen’s more human side. Taking a leaf out of the first fourteen chapters of the current season, Buxton narrated an incident from Monaco. “We were in Monaco, and there was an autograph session on the circuit. As always with Max, it was incredibly busy. It’s crazy then, and chaos,” says the veteran.

Adding: “The crowd moved towards Max, and a little kid, maybe two years old, fell through it and started crying. So Max suddenly hears a toddler crying and looks around and sees the little boy’s parents helping him up. Without even thinking twice, Verstappen took off his cap, signed it, and gave it to this little two-year-old boy, who looked surprised.”

All of us remember this moment. Anyone could tell, it wasn’t a PR trick. Max Verstappen candidly gave away his cap, without thinking twice. This episode had an impression on Will Buxton– he was greatly impressed. “This is just the human side and the person. People don’t often see that side of Max, because they think he can be quite cold and ruthless. After all, on the track he has to be like that. That’s also characteristic of a world champion.” We know how kind the 26-year-old can be around kids. His relationship with his girlfriend’s daughter Penelope, speaks volumes of Verstappen’s soft heart.

Of course, he must keep a tough stance against his competitors, that’s normal for all athletes. However, ‘Mad Max’ usually keeps his toughness off the track as well. But at the same time, he’s incredibly hilarious and witty.

We aren’t unaware of the clips floating around on social media where Max Verstappen is cheeky and playful with his teammates or friends. So, yes not always does the 3x champ put on an ‘angry young man’ appearance. However, the time has come for the Red Bull powerhouse to bring back his competition mode- F1 is coming back!

What is the contrast between Max Verstappen the human and Max Verstappen the F1 beast?

Next week, we’ll see Max Verstappen wear his helmet all over again. The RB20’s cockpit is eagerly waiting for the champ to return. But, before that, we could spend a moment to find the basic differences between Verstappen the racer vs Verstappen the human. It isn’t very difficult, even a newbie in the F1 community will be able to tell you. But, let’s start from the start.

The F1 present Will Buxton believes that despite all the fame and influence Max Verstappen has in F1, he’s kept himself utterly grounded.  And this has nothing to do with his PR management- in most cases, the Flying Dutchman does what he feels is right- even if it means collecting criticisms. That’s him off the track. But when the helmet’s on, there’s a whole different person you’ll see. A ‘robot’ rather- unidirectional, peak concentration, and the hunger to win, win, and win. This is the story of almost all the world champions.

But what sets the three-time world champion apart is his “I don’t care” nature. When he says something ‘unexpected’ the only thing we can say is “typically Verstappen.” This uniqueness is rare in itself. Fans play a major role in the making of a star, and the Red Bull giant keeps winning hearts with his rare kind deeds. His underappreciated soft side is a marvel on its own, don’t you think so?