The Formula Medicine mental coach explains why the Dutch champion will be able to overcome having witnessed the passing of a 66-year-old gentleman driver at the circuit. According to him, drivers activate a psychological protection mechanism: it is not recklessness, but awareness of risk.
Verstappen and the reality of racing risk
Max Verstappen returned to the Nürburgring for the pure joy of racing, but the Dutch driver experienced a tragic weekend marked by the death of Juha Miettinen. In Formula 1, the idea that tragedy could still occur barely crosses a driver’s mind, given the extremely high level of safety reached by modern single-seaters.
So what could a four-time world champion feel when discovering that, alongside the pleasure of racing, death can still be part of motorsport reality? We asked Riccardo Ceccarelli, mental coach and head of Formula Medicine.
“This is a delicate topic, but at the same time a very interesting one that makes you reflect. Until these events happen, we see motorsport as a world that represents our passion and something fascinating, almost magnetic. When tragedies occur, you suddenly realise the risks and start to reflect,” he explained.
Lessons from past tragedies
“I remember in 1995 Ivan Capelli was racing in Super Touring with the Nissan Primera. We were running a Nissan training camp, and among the drivers there was Keith O’Dor, a very fast British driver but also a wonderful person, very well liked. A few months later he had a fatal accident in a touring car, and I was deeply shaken because, coming from Formula 1, I never imagined such a tragic ending: the Nissan was hit directly in the driver’s side door and the impact was devastating.”
Following that accident, the FIA introduced side intrusion protection for touring cars, GT cars and rally cars.
“It was a shock: an internal alarm went off because that smiling, kind guy was suddenly gone. You realise that even in a beautiful world, deep pain can exist. Death on track is something that hits you hard.”
How drivers mentally process tragedy
“There are two aspects to analyse. When Ayrton Senna died in 1994, it revolutionised the entire racing world. Things would not have changed in the same way if it had stopped at Roland Ratzenberger’s accident, because who dies also matters in terms of impact.”
“At the Nürburgring, unfortunately, a 66-year-old gentleman driver passed away. Inevitably, in a driver’s mind a defence mechanism triggers: ‘I am a professional, that would not have happened to me’. It is not a rational thought, but a psychological defence. Experiencing tragedy obviously has an impact, but I am convinced Max, who is certainly not someone without feelings, was affected by what happened.”
Will there be psychological consequences?
“No, because the person who died was not a top-level driver. When tragedy strikes a champion, the reaction is different: drivers think, ‘If it happened to him, it could have happened to me too’. We saw this clearly after Ayrton Senna’s accident.”
What it means for Verstappen
“I am sure he felt pain for what happened. He was present at the event and felt the atmosphere at the circuit. But then a mental defence mechanism kicks in, anchoring the idea that it would not happen to him.”
“I do not believe it will affect Max’s performance in future races, whether in Formula 1 or GT racing. The incident will be filed away as a sad and painful accident, but we know that, from time to time, the risk factor in racing reappears in the harshest way. Fortunately, not like in the past: in Formula 1 we used to lose one or two key drivers every season. Today, safety has made huge progress. And there is awareness of risk, not recklessness.”
Comparing different racing mindsets
“I have already mentioned this, but I think of Dave Todd, a British motorcycle racer who competes in the UK Superbike championship and races in the TT, which he has already won. At the Isle of Man TT, fatal accidents unfortunately still occur because riders average over 200 km/h through roads lined with houses, walls, kerbs and trees. Each lap is 60 km, repeated six times.”
“Todd is currently in rehabilitation at Formula Medicine after a very serious crash. When I speak with him, I am astonished. He shows me his videos and speaks calmly about crashes, death, and riders who are no longer here, as if it were something normal, almost physiological. Formula 1 drivers have almost removed this aspect from their mindset because nothing serious has happened for many years. But in other categories, death is still seen as part of the game.”
“The British rider is doing everything he can to return in time for the TT, but the approach I see is not reckless. He is very grounded, humble, but confident. Fully aware of the risk he is taking, but with an extraordinary analytical ability.”
“When he shows his onboard footage, he naturally points out dangerous sections: bumps where the bike jumps at 250 km/h, potholes, and walls where you must be extremely careful.”
“And when I hear these conversations, I realise that not all minds are the same. But that does not mean these riders are reckless people throwing themselves off a balcony to see what happens. They are rational, intelligent and lucid athletes who calculate every risk and try to keep everything under control as much as possible.”
While the tragedy at the Nürburgring highlights the dangers inherent in motorsport, Max Verstappen’s professional training and mental conditioning will allow him to move forward without a drop in performance. By utilizing innate psychological defense mechanisms, elite drivers like Verstappen can acknowledge the loss while maintaining the absolute focus required for Formula 1. As the season continues, the incident serves not as a deterrent, but as a somber validation of the safety advancements that define modern Grand Prix racing.
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