Oliver Bearman believes that Max Verstappen does not need advice to face the challenge of racing against 100 competitors in karting, but he sees some factors that could make the mission even more complicated. The Brit used his own experience in a similar race to explain what the four-time world champion can expect in the “Max vs 100” event.
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Verstappen will return to his roots on September 16, in Silverstone, to compete in the challenge. The Red Bull driver will start from the last position on a grid formed by 101 karts on a circuit specially built for the occasion. The mission will be to overtake all opponents before time runs out.
Bearman took part in a similar experience and knows the challenge can be more complicated than it initially seems. The Haas driver was asked if he had any advice for the four-time world champion: “I think Max doesn’t need any advice, but I don’t know, it depends. In my case, I had like three or four really fast drivers. Like, one guy was racing in the British Championship, so when I saw him, I knew he was going to be fast.”
Besides the quality of the opponents, Bearman pointed out another element that can make a difference: the weight of the drivers. The Brit acknowledged that he could have prepared better for this issue in his own experience. The available time was also an obstacle:
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“Obviously there is a weight difference, so I should have prepared a bit more. Anyway, the more laps you do, the more chance you have to overtake, because I only had like, maybe 15 laps, so if he has to lap, maybe he has a chance to get through. It’s always a fun thing, but I remember it was a very cool idea on paper until I got to turn one with, well, 50 karts in front of me and thought: actually, this is really dangerous. But it all worked out.”
The very possibility of facing Verstappen in a kart was also put to Bearman: “I would say I have a weight advantage over him, I think, so that would say yes, but I also have height against me. So the problem in karting is that it depends a lot on that, you know, the aerodynamic side of things, the center of gravity too. When you are tall, you really lose. I went karting a few months ago, and when the grip is very high, I was on two wheels, so I can’t go very fast in the corners. So that’s not good at all for the ideal lap time.”
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