{"id":256,"date":"2025-07-11T02:03:57","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T02:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/256\/"},"modified":"2025-07-11T02:03:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T02:03:57","slug":"svg-confesses-f1-champion-max-verstappens-role-in-his-2025-nascar-mexico-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/256\/","title":{"rendered":"SVG Confesses F1 Champion Max Verstappen\u2019s Role in His 2025 NASCAR Mexico Win"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cYeah, he didn\u2019t say too much, but it\u2019s always good to get a little leg up, you know.\u201d That is exactly what road course star Shane van Gisbergen had to say about Max Verstappen before heading to Mexico. With that subtle endorsement, SVG revealed that to capture the Viva Mexico 250, what happened behind the scenes helped him through the slippery conditions and ultimately made the difference.<\/p>\n

Shane van Gisbergen stormed to victory on the rain-impacted road course at Aut\u00f3dromo Hermanos Rodr\u00edguez, showcasing his road course prowess and securing his first NASCAR Cup playoff spot. But the win wasn\u2019t just about raw talent; it was also influenced by a few early morning messages from Verstappen, nudging SVG to prepare himself for wet conditions, a skill Max had honed during his F1 run in Mexico. Here\u2019s what SVG had to say about their conversation.<\/p>\n

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Shane van Gisbergen opens up about his text with Max Verstappen<\/p>\n

Max Verstappen has been nearly unstoppable at the Mexico City Grand Prix, securing victories in 2017 and 2018, and then 2021 through 2023, on the high-altitude circuit. His dominance there has made him an unofficial track guru for any racer stepping onto its slick surface. SVG acknowledged that pedigree after arriving at Aut\u00f3dromo Hermanos Rodr\u00edguez.<\/p>\n

After triumphing at the Cup Series\u2019 first international points-paying race of the modern era in the rain, in a post-race interview in Mexico, Shane van Gisbergen<\/a> explained how he took the four-time F1 champion\u2019s help. SVG said in Mexico, \u201cI just look for every advantage I can. I know he\u2019s raced here in the rain, and he\u2019s a friend of mine, and I walked out onto pit road this morning, and it was amazing how slick it was. Normally, on a wet circuit, the tarmac has grip, and the white lines are slipperier. It was the opposite. It was like ice; how slippery it was out there. I just reached out to him, was the grip on line, off line, what kind of techniques did he use?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although Max Verstappen<\/a> was busy in Canada, the conversation proved pivotal. SVG, despite illness the day before, led 59 of 100 laps and won by over 16 seconds, the largest margin on a Cup road course in 45 years, earning both playoff entry and solidifying his Rookie of the Year trajectory. The win wasn\u2019t just about SVG\u2019s skill; it was also the edge Verstappen\u2019s advice provided, reinforcing SVG\u2019s mindset.<\/p>\n

And now, a month later, speaking on Kevin Harvick\u2019s Happy Hour<\/a>, the No. 88 driver didn\u2019t hold back on crediting his fellow Red Bull athlete. Harvick pressed on the rumor, asking how SVG had called Max to get help from Mexico. SVG responded with a smile, saying, \u201cMexico. Yeah. Yeah. I just texted him a little bit in the morning. He was racing in Canada that day. I just tried to get any help I could. You know, he\u2019d raced there or practiced there in the wet, so he had some small advice. Nothing too much, but it helps.\u201d<\/p>\n

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via Imago<\/p>\n

Although Red Bull Racing<\/a>\u2018s Max Verstappen finished behind Canadian GP winner George Russell, SVG had an entirely different weekend altogether. A wet race in NASCAR turns everything on its head. Pit stops are unpredictable, tire choices become a high-stakes gamble, and the track surface offers wildly inconsistent grip. Puddles form, painted lines become treacherous, and visibility drops dramatically because of limited rain equipment on the cars.<\/p>\n

What makes wet NASCAR races fascinating is how much they level the playing field. Raw speed takes a backseat to car control, throttle finesse, and real-time adaptability. Drivers with road course backgrounds, like Shane van Gisbergen<\/a>, tend to thrive, using experience to manage grip and anticipate transitions, thanks to his supercar series run. Now, despite this immense road course skill, SVG has also revived an iconic sponsor in NASCAR.<\/p>\n

SVG formally joined Red Bull\u2019s athlete group in January 2025, with the brand returning to NASCAR for the first time since 2011 alongside Trackhouse Racing. A three-time supercars champion with Red Bull since 2016, SVG said, \u201cBeing part of Trackhouse was a big appeal to them, but also me getting outside of my comfort zone. Red Bull\u2019s all about pushing limits\u2026 having a pretty cool story to tell\u2026 winning some races but also experiencing some pretty cool things as well is\u2014yeah, hopefully we can do some cool stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, NASCAR is what pushed him to leave Australia behind<\/a>. And now with wins at Mexico and Chicago under his belt, SVG also reflected on how the season has broadened his NASCAR experience, naming his favorite and weirdest tracks on the calendar.<\/p>\n

SVG on exploring NASCAR culture in his rookie season<\/p>\n

Fully immersed in his first full-time NASCAR Cup Series campaign, Trackhouse Racing<\/a>\u2019s Shane van Gisbergen is thriving in his new American chapter. While he has claimed two wins in just 3 road course starts this season, his main focus is to improve on ovals. As he said after winning the Grant Park 165 at Chicago, \u201cThese (road) races are like a\u00a0holiday to me; it\u2019s the ovals where I\u2019m really focused on getting better and better.\u201d<\/p>\n

His oval results saw a dismal start, with consistent finishes in the 30s, but that has steadily improved to mid-pack and high 20s, with a career-best oval finish of 14th at the Coca-Cola 600. However, the Kiwi also knows that even if he struggles, the best thing he can do is enjoy the festivities that each NASCAR race brings to the table, and he\u2019s done exactly that in his rookie year.<\/p>\n

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The culture and color of the NASCAR scene have left an impression on the Kiwi driver. On Harvick\u2019s Happy Hour, SVG admitted his favorite pre-race environment so far has been Talladega<\/a>. He said, \u201cMy favorite pre-race is Talladega. You know how emotional everyone is, and the anthem\u2019s pumping. And then this truck just comes roaring through with the big flag on. It\u2019s epic.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while Talladega charmed him, SVG wasn\u2019t shy about calling out the oddities of some tracks. He described Dover as \u201cprobably the weirdest place,\u201d tucked away, \u201cjust in the middle of a random place.\u201d Richmond gave him a similar sense of surprise. He says, \u201cIt\u2019s like that as well. You\u2019re just driving through a neighborhood, and then all of a sudden, there\u2019s a track just there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, what has stood out most to him is the diversity of the fans. The Trackhouse Racing driver says, \u201cBut I find the people are cool everywhere you go. For, like, if you\u2019re racing in Australia or New Zealand, the people are the same. When you go around in America, there\u2019s so many different cultures of people and the way they speak is so different. And everyone seems so happy to be at the track. It\u2019s pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Currently sitting fifth in playoff points with 10 races remaining, including strong road course opportunities at Sonoma and Watkins Glen, SVG isn\u2019t making bold predictions. But with momentum on his side and confidence growing, SVG could well be your series leaders in race wins before the playoffs arrive. Do you think SVG has another road course win under his belt in 2025? Let us know in the comments!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cYeah, he didn\u2019t say too much, but it\u2019s always good to get a little leg up, you know.\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[425,99],"class_list":["post-256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}