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F1: Verstappen sings ‘Green Green Grass of Home’

Posted by AR1 staff

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen was heard singing ‘Green Green Grass Of Home’ by Tom Jones on his radio after winning the 2023 Brazilian GP on Sunday and breaking Alberto Ascari’s 71-year-old record.

It was yet another comfortable win for the three-time world champion as he led from the front to finish eight seconds ahead of Lando Norris and take home his 17th race win of the season.

The victory also meant that the Dutchman broke former Ferrari legend Alberto Ascari’s record of win percentages during the course of the season. Max Verstappen has won 77% of the races in 2023 and that will stand even if he doesn’t win in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi. He eclipsed Ascari’s 75%, which was set when the Italian claimed six wins from eight races in 1952.

Max Verstappen sang along to ‘Green Green Grass Of Home’ by Tom Jones on the team radio after the win, cheekily accepting that he wasn’t a good singer.

Speaking with Reuters, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner claimed the song was his favorite, saying:

“We learned today something else about Max today,” said Horner. “Apparently, when he used to head back from kart races as a youngster, his father used to play Tom Jones tracks over and over again.

“So I managed to put on the Tom Jones’ ‘Green Green Grass’. I didn’t know whether they’d play at all. Radio Red Bull and he was singing along primarily.”

But why Tom Jones?

“I’ve got no ****ing idea why a 26-year-old, why ‘Green Green Grass’ would be… it was the most unlikely song I thought,” Horner said laughing.

“But Jos told me in Qatar… what’s his favorite song, maybe Paul [Monaghan] can play it? And he went ‘Green Green Grass’ by Tom Jones. So I was ‘can you play ‘Green Green Grass’ by Tom Jones?’ And he [Paul] was like ‘what the ****?’

“I was thinking obviously after the Spice Girls I’m thinking he would be totally into you know, ****ing Ed Sheeran or somebody you know the contemporary of his age range but Tom Jones? Tom Jones for **** sake!”

Ted Kravitz added:

“Red Bull tell me, the favorite song of Jos Verstappen and a young Max when they were in the car going to and from their karting destinations in Italy,” he said.

“So Max sort of grew up on go karting in Italy, and when they were driving from the Netherlands down to Lonato, or one of the kart tracks in Italy, one of Jos’ favorite favorite songs was the Tom Jones version of ‘Green Green Grass of Home’.

“And when Max won the championship in Qatar, in the middle of the celebrations Jos insisted that they start singing the ‘Green Green Grass of Home’. So that’s where that came.

“In fact, I believe when they were celebrating the Constructors’ Championship in Japan, there might have been some homespun karaoke as to a ‘Green Green Grass of Home’.