The current director of Red Bull’s driver development academy, Guillaume “Rocky” Rocquelin, notes that Max Verstappen has “more natural talent” but is “weak technically” and has to improve in that area.
Guillaume Rocquelin served as the Head of Race Engineering from 2015 to 2022, and he was also the former race engineer of four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.
In an interview with Eurosport France’s Les Fous du Volant podcast, he highlighted the differences between Max Verstappen and other drivers the team have had, notably Sebastian Vettel.
“I think Sebastian (Vettel) was a more complete driver than Max when he arrived with us,” he said.
“At the professional level, technique, mediation, he was trained at the Schumacher school, who was his idol.”
“I think Max maybe had more natural talent, that’s what he relied on the most. But Sebastian was the most complete.”
“Max has always been a boss. He has enormous self-confidence, he knows what he wants and he is very direct,” Rocquelin added.
“But I’ll be honest – Max is weak technically compared to other drivers we’ve worked with.
“He is a leader by his attitude, his results. But I think he can improve from a technical point of view and in the way of developing the car.”
