Former Red Bull mechanic details amusing Max Verstappen hot lap experience

Red Bull ambassador and former team mechanic Callum Nicholas has shared a funny story regarding a hot lap experience with Max Verstappen.

Nicholas was part of the Red Bull mechanic and pit crew for several years and won multiple world championships with the team.

He has since released his own book and has become an ambassador for the Red Bull company.

Nicholas recently shared a behind-the-scenes story involving Max Verstappen and the Dutchman's race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase.

“It’s a couple of years ago, pre-season, and we’re doing our normal filming day,” Nicholas said on Instagram.

“So as usual, we’re at Silverstone. We’re getting ready to send the car out for its first laps of the season.”

Lambiase wanted to get an eye for the circuit in before Verstappen gave the car its on-track debut, and Nicholas volunteered his own Audi RS6 road car.

As they took to the track, Lambiase and Verstappen had two polarising introductions for Nicholas, who was behind the wheel.

“When I took on this offer, I didn’t really think that it would be as much pressure as it was,” he said. 

“I was kind of stuck in the middle. I didn’t want to drive too fast, but I didn’t want to drive too slowly either.

“Once we were out on the track, this became even more of a problem, because while I’ve got Max going, ‘Yeah, yeah, go, go, go, go’, I’ve got GP in the back going, ‘That’s enough, Calum! Enough! You don’t need to go any faster.’

“But Max did make me laugh at one point. Because as we’re approaching Maggotts and Becketts - bear in mind I’m already doing a fair lick - he just says to me, ‘It’s flat through here.'”

“[I said] ‘mate, it is not, and I ain’t got the balls for that.’

“Anyway, we all made it around the lap safely. Which is good, because I would not have wanted to explain to health and safety why a pretty key member of the team was injured before the season starts!”