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No, there will not be a bottle of champagne on the table at the home of Sébastien Buemi (34) in Aigle VD because Max Verstappen (26) won his third world title in Qatar. “It’s not the same as winning yourself. But it is a wonderful feeling that the many hours of work have been worth it,” the Swiss driver told SonntagsBlick.
Because Buemi is one of Verstappen’s world champion helpers. One of the many who toil in the background at Red Bull Racing. The Swiss is a simulator driver. Buemi sits in the high-tech simulator at the factory in Milton Keyes, England, and virtually drives Verstappen’s car.
What sounds like PlayStation fun is actually hard work behind the scenes in the glamor world of F1. New ideas and car parts are tested virtually with the supercomputers. That saves time and money.
Buemi supports Verstappen’s qualifying vote
Buemi will also put his foot on the simulator this GP weekend in Qatar. On Friday comes the hour after free practice, when Verstappen’s team barely has time on the track to improve the car’s set-up for qualifying.
Buemi: “Ten minutes after training in England we entered all the circuit data into the simulator. We then look for setup options for Max that can make him faster in qualifying. For example, on Friday the wind was the big problem.”
5000 km from Qatar, the Swiss ex-F1 driver and the engineers are working on a number of changes to Verstappen’s car. So does the Dutchman have Buemi to thank for his pole position in Qatar? De Vaudois waves his hand and says: “I am just a small cog in the success. Max is an incredible driver. It’s cool to be able to see an exceptional person like him working up close.”
What sets the three-time world champion apart? “He doesn’t have bad days, he is always fast and rarely makes mistakes. Not even if he has to start from behind. There is no one else at his level in Formula 1,” says Buemi, himself a multiple world champion in Formula E and endurance racing.
Buemi experienced the World Cup title at home
Bullen’s two employees rarely meet. Verstappen is also regularly in the simulator. But the Dutchman is usually at the factory on Monday or Tuesday, while Buemi’s working days during the GP weekends are Thursday and Friday, when Verstappen is already in the right car on site.
But Buemi listens in from Milton Keynes when Verstappen has preparatory and debriefings with his technical team. “Max can describe very well how the car feels while driving and how he imagines the solutions to the problem,” says Buemi. Communication with the engineers must also be correct to achieve series victories with the RB19.
Buemi has been doing his discreet Red Bull job for eleven years, since he was the last Swiss driver to retire from Formula 1 at Toro Rosso in 2011.
But in the background, Buemi remained loyal to the premier class and kept the part-time job at Red Bull, despite time-consuming stints as a driver in Formula E and the World Endurance Championship. “I just enjoy it and I can take a lot of stuff with me for my other jobs,” says Buemi. We have been back in Switzerland since Saturday. In Milton Keynes, Verstappen is virtually beyond help because no set-up changes are allowed during the race.
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
