Verstappen will 'win his fifth title and leave' for Calum Nicholas, his former mechanic

Fifteen years in the F1 paddock, 233 Grands Prix, four drivers' world championship titles and two constructors' titles: Calum Nicholas's list of achievements would make many on the grid pale. The mechanic Red Bull, recognizable by his dreadlocks, is full of moments experienced in Formula 1, for better or for worse.

On February 25, 2025, the Briton announced his departure from the Red Bull garage. "I've been thinking about it for several years. After releasing my book and developing my social networks, the idea was to stay in sport while having a better work-life balance, he remembers. Red Bull asked me to become an ambassador and I just felt it was the perfect time."

An engineer by training, his new position allows him to pass on his knowledge while maintaining his attachment to sport. “I always work on projects related to Formula 1. Red Bull has their STEMx program [Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Editor’s note] where we go to schools to talk to young people about job opportunities in motorsport."

Having arrived in the Red Bull garage in January 2015, he will have had seven different drivers at the wheel of a car from Milton Keynes (Ricciardo, Kvyat, Verstappen, gasly, Albon, Perez and Lawson). The opportunity for him to observe the difference between Max Verstappen and his teammates in the highly controversial second car: “I saw Max evolve. The guy can do everything. He's doing everything well today, and I just think it adds extra pressure."

He also dismissed theories that the Dutchman's teammate does not have the same car. "I know the cars are identical, having spent hours assembling them (Laughter). Aside from driver settings and preferences, the cars are built the same way., certifies the BritishI don't think the second seat is "cursed", I think the pressure is not the same between 2015 and 2025. The situation is very different in terms of the mentality to be applied.

However, the debate surrounding the four-time world champion's teammate will soon no longer be possible, according to him, without Max Verstappen on the grid. "I think he'll win his fifth title this year and call it a day. Mind you, I don't know any more than you do.", laughs the former mechanic.

In Jules Bianchi's garage at the time of his accident at Suzuka in 2014

Before joining Red Bull, Calum Nicholas cut his teeth at Marussia, where he was in Jules Bianchi's garage at the time of his fatal crash at the 2014 Suzuka Grand Prix. "I wasn't ready for that. I was 23, it's one of my first memories in Formula 1. I only started attending Grand Prix races two years earlier.", recalls the engineer.

As with the rest of the grid, returning to Suzuka brings with it a certain unease, symptomatic of a traumatic ordeal. “Yet it’s my favorite circuit, but when it starts to rain… I especially remember going to collect the chassis that day, removing the cover and seeing the state it was in, he saysIt was a very overwhelming time, questioning why I was doing this job, but I was lucky to have older team members around to support me.

As a reminder, the Marussia team had chosen to enter only one single-seater at the following Grand Prix, in Russia. "We assembled Jules' car to leave in the garage as a tribute. The atmosphere was very gloomy; it was very difficult to assemble a front wing, a rear wing, a gearbox... There was criticism because the spectators had paid to see 22 cars, but I maintain that it was the right decision.", concludes Calum Nicholas.

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