Supercars 2023: Formula One world champion Max Verstappen raves about SvG NASCAR win
F1 champion Max Verstappen stayed up late to cheer on Red Bull teammate Shane van Gisbergen’s NASCAR debut saing he’s ‘never felt so nervous’ watching a race.
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Formula One world champion Max Verstappen has raved about the NASCAR performance of “crazy right-foot braker” Shane van Gisbergen, revealing he was “screaming” at his TV watching the Supercars star’s debut Cup Series victory.
Van Gisbergen stunned the motorsport world when he upstaged NASCAR’s best to win on the streets of Chicago in his cameo for Trackhouse Racing on Monday.
A Red Bull stablemate and sim racing teammate of van Gisbergen, Verstappen revealed he stayed awake after last week’s Austrian Grand Prix to watch his friend race in the US.
Verstappen was in awe of how quickly van Gisbergen had adapted behind the wheel of a car he had only tested for the first time the week before.
And, like most in NASCAR, the Dutch star was also absorbed by the Triple Eight ace’s right-foot braking style.
“I’ve never felt so nervous in my life watching someone else race and trying to win it,” Verstappen told reporters at Silverstone ahead of the British Grand Prix.
“I was literally screaming in front of my monitor for him to win that.
“That’s really, really impressive to jump in the car you don’t know. They are very hard cars to drive and he just goes in there and absolutely dominates the race.
“I know he’s a great driver, I know what he’s capable of and I know how good he is at different kinds of disciplines.
“He’s great, of course in the V8s, that’s what he knows. But he’s great in the rally car as well. And clearly he’s great in a NASCAR as well.
“That’s Shane. He is a crazy right-foot braker still.”
Van Gisbergen’s heel-toe braking style was a major talking point among commentators and fellow drivers in the US.
Verstappen described the Triple Supercars champion’s braking as “insane”.
“I see it all the time on the simulator as well,” Verstappen said.
“He’s also part of Team Redline (sim racing) and sometimes we race together.
“It’s quite insane that he’s that fast with that technique. But he’s also very good on fuel, for example, the way he drives.
“It’s interesting. I mean, I can’t do it, but he grew up like that.”
SvG ‘committed’ to Triple Eight despite NASCAR buzz
Supercars champion turned NASCAR sensation Shane van Gisbergen says his phone has been “running hot” since his stunning debut Cup Series victory, but maintains he remains committed to racing for Triple Eight again next year.
Speaking for the first time since his return from the United States after becoming the talk of world motorsport with his epic win on the streets of Chicago, van Gisbergen said there had been plenty of interest since his brilliant NASCAR cameo but he did not have any “proper offers yet”.
The defending Supercars champion is contracted to Triple Eight until the end of 2024, but team boss Jamie Whincup said this week he would “not stand in the way” if the Kiwi ace wanted an early release from his deal if he landed a full-time opportunity in the US next year.
Van Gisbergen described Whincup’s comments as “interesting” but said he was yet to sit down and discuss the situation with the seven-time Supercars champion.
The 34-year-old declared immediately post-race in Chicago he was keen to pursue a Cup Series drive after “one more year” in Supercars.
Ahead of his 500th race start in Supercars in Townsville on Sunday, van Gisbergen said there had been plenty of potential suitors for his services.
“Yeah, my phone’s been running hot, but I don’t have any proper offers yet, obviously,” van Gisbergen said.
“But yeah, I really want to keep going and try some more stuff and, as I said, I’m committed to here next year.
“But obviously I’ve read Jamie’s comments, which are interesting.
“I haven’t spoken to Jamie yet though.”
Van Gisbergen is already a three-time Supercars champion and a two-time Bathurst 1000 winner in Supercars, but expressed early frustration with the new Gen3 product.
Heading into this week’s round in Townsville, he sits fourth in the championship standings.
Van Gisbergen said the variation now in the NASCAR schedule was appealing, although conceded he would need time to adjust to oval racing if he was to make a career switch.
“I’d want to go and try it again. Like I had so much fun,” van Gisbergen.
“The oval stuff and there’s series variation now, it’s not the same stuff every week, so it does look appealing. And the drivers that I spoke to, they speak highly of how it is now.
“The oval is just, it’s a completely different world. I have no illusion that I’d go there and run up the front. Like that would take a long time.
“But you’d obviously want to try. But having six to eight road courses in the coming years, that’s appealing.
“It’s not just one and a half mile tracks every week. It’s a lot of different styles, different formats, and yeah, it looks alright.”
While van Gisbergen had little trouble adjusting behind the wheel of the NASCAR, the same could not be said of the commentators, who struggled with the pronunciation of his surname.
“Everyone I met was cool, but reading all the comments and listening to them, like, it’s not that hard once you read my name,” van Gisbergen said.
“But it was hard for a few of them.”
Van Gisbergen said he had been blown away by the reception he had received – from both sides of the divide – following his win with Trackhouse Racing.
“It’s been amazing. All the people here (in Townsville), but also fans like messages from people saying, ‘I’m a big Ford fan, but I supported you on the weekend but now you’re the enemy again’,” he said.
“Stuff like that’s cool. It shows everyone just appreciates the racing.
“I can’t believe how many people have reached out and all the comments and everything. It’s very cool.”
‘Won’t stand in his way’: Triple Eight boss on SVG future
Triple Eight team principal Jamie Whincup says he would “not stand in the way” if Shane van Gisbergen wanted an early release from his Supercars deal if the Kiwi ace landed a full-time NASCAR drive after his mind-boggling win on debut in the United States.
Van Gisbergen put his name up in lights in the US after blitzing his first NASCAR race to claim a stunning victory on the streets of Chicago in his Cup Series cameo for Trackhouse Racing.
It was a debut performance that is certain to attract plenty of NASCAR interest for the triple Supercars champion, who expressed his desire to pursue a Cup Series drive after “one more year” in Supercars after his Chicago race win.
Whincup confirmed van Gisbergen was only contractually tied to Triple Eight until the end of 2024, but said he did not want to “hold anyone back”
“We have done a deal and we have got a contract for ‘24, but I am not one to hold back any of my employees or contractors in any way, shape or form,” Whincup said.
“I want them at Triple Eight because they want to be there and it’s the best place for them. But any day that somebody says I would rather be somewhere else then, of course, I am not going to hold anybody back.
“Obviously, there is a contract in place, so we have got to work through things, it’s not an easy thing. But I’m certainly not motivated to hold anybody back in any way shape or form.”
Pressed on whether that meant he would be open to releasing van Gisbergen early from his deal if he wanted to leave at the end of this year, Whincup said he would work “work it out” it with the driving ace.
“We’d have to work through it. I wouldn’t stand in his way. I would certainly be open to working through it with him, 100 per cent,” the seven-time Supercars champion said.
“The last thing I want is somebody there because they have to be, not because they want to be. That’s completely against what myself and Triple Eight are all about. We would work it out.”
Van Gisbergen is already a three-time series champion and two-time Bathurst 1000 winner in Supercars, but expressed early frustration with the new Gen3 product.
In his championship defence, the New Zealand star sits fourth in the driver standings leading into this week’s round at Townsville.
Asked if Triple Eight was already starting to look at contingency plans should van Gisbergen depart the series, Whincup said he would ensure the team “was covered”.
“I was, six months ago when I did the deal with SVG, knowing that there was an out clause for 2025,” Whincup said.
“I am managing director, responsible for Triple Eight and their best interests, so I am making sure we are covered for 2025 if SVG decides to do something else.
“Or next year, even, of course. We will live happily ever after.
“I won’t go into names, but we are certainly making sure that we have got a star-studded line up come ‘24 and ‘25, as far as the drivers are concerned.”
Whincup described van Gisbergen’s NASCAR performance as “mind-boggling” and said he was proud of what the defending Supercars champion had achieved.
“It’s massive, we are all in a little bit of shock to be honest. I’m sure SVG is as well,” Whincup said.
“We had high expectations, of course, knowing that he is a very, very good driver and knows how to drive a tin-top.
“But (for) your first race with limited laps going into the round in – we are not talking NASCAR’s second or third tier – we are talking the Cup Series, it’s the highest of the championships over there.
“So, sure a top-10 would have been great, a podium would have been out of this world, but to go over there and get a win is mind-boggling.
“I am so proud of what he has achieved, I’m so happy for him. I’m not jumping on the bandwagon, this opportunity was created by him, he saw the opportunity, chased it down and made it happen and went over and won the race.”
If van Gisbergen moved on from Supercars, he would follow in the footsteps of retired star Marcos Ambrose (NASCAR) and fellow Kiwi Scott McLaughlin (IndyCar) in leaving V8s to race full-time in the United States.
Whincup acknowledged it would not only be a massive loss for Triple Eight, but the series if van Gisbergen secured a drive overseas, but said the category should applaud its drivers moving to the “world stage”.
“Let’s look at the positives, for ourselves, our team and the sport to be able to take somebody and put them on the world stage like NASCAR, that’s a job well done,” he said.
“That’s something we all should be proud of and then we should be looking for the next (driver) to do the same thing.”
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