Red Bull Motorsports
F1
See Max Verstappen drive an F1 car at a ski resort
What happens when you try to drive an F1 car around an icy ski resort? Find out when Max Verstappen travelled to the Austrian Alps.
Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Max Verstappen made tracks for the Austrian Alps and the Hahnenkamm Festival enjoy a taste of the high life and perform a unique F1 show run at Kitzbühel ski resort.
The resort is revving up for the famous Hahnenkammrennen World Cup Alpine ski races, and the Downhill race on the Streif course – the biggest challenge in downhill skiiing, the sport's answer to the Nordschleife: a test of supreme skill, fitness and bravery.
Learn more about the Dutch driver by listening to the Becoming Max Verstappen episode of the Beyond the Ordinary podcast.
So what better way to celebrate the pinnacle of motorsport than with a ‘Snowrun’ at the home of the pinnacle of winter sports?
“I've never driven on snow," said Max Verstappen after the run. "It was a real challenge and we had to put my tyres in chains, was very special. It was great fun and the enthusiasm of fans in Kitzbühel was great.”
Snow showers: Max Verstappen sprays fans with snow
© Philip Platzer/Red Bull Content Pool
Max Verstappen stops to make an iced donut
© Philip Platzer/Red Bull Content Pool
Snow drift: Max Verstappen at the Hahnenkamm
© Philip Platzer/Red Bull Content Pool
Max gets to grip with the snow tyres
© Philip Platzer/Red Bull Content Pool
Red Bull’s motorsport director, Dr Helmut Marko, was on hand to watch his protégé in action: "It’s the perfect advert for Formula One. It shows exactly what you can do with a little imagination. I’d have loved to have done this in my youth, but unfortunately nobody thought of it at the time…"
Also among the spectators was Austrian F1 legend Gerhard Berger: "Many of the fans here have probably never had the chance to experience Formula One up close, so seeing an F1 car this close, against this giant backdrop and feeling the power of the engine is quite unique. "
1 min
Max Verstappen explains driving an F1 car on snow
A very cold looking Max Verstappen discusses the challenge of driving an F1 car on snow
The Red Bull Racing showcar team spent a morning preparing the car to cope with its surroundings. An F1 car is accustomed to racing in hot weather, so in addition to making special snow tyres for the car, the team had to re-tune the engine and adjust the set-up to make it possible for Max to handle the car in the snow.
Mark Willis explains exactly how they did it in the video below.
1 min
Behind scenes at the F1 winter showrun in the Alps
Mark Willis from Red Bull Racing explains the challenge of running F1 car in sub zero temperatures.
