Max Verstappen is a very fast and talented driver, but when he’s challenged even a little bit, he seems to become as dangerous as the dickheads in your average Forza lobby. He’s done it for years, and he’s rarely ever been given any kind of reprimand for his dangerous actions. He’ll run competitors too deep into a corner, threatening them to either back off or get hit. It’s not the kind of actions befitting a Formula 1 World Champion, and he seriously needs to grow the hell up. It’s obvious McLaren has found enough pace to be a serious threat to Red Bull at the front, and if this kind of wheel-to-wheel battling continues for the rest of the season, we’re going to see a lot of Max-initiated contact.
After Max threatened to hit Lando during his three prior attempts at overtaking for the lead of the Austrian Grand Prix, it all came to a head. Lando Norris moved to the outside of Max and pushed deep into the brake zone on lap 64, while staying far enough behind Verstappen at the DRS detection point to get the aerodynamic boost on the next straight, as well as the inside line to the following corner. It was a perfect setup for the perfect move, or would have been if Max had allowed it to happen. Instead he deliberately rammed his car into Lando, causing a tire puncture on both his Red Bull and the McLaren.
As a result of the contact Max was handed a paltry and inconsequential 10-second penalty. Meanwhile Lando’s tire shredded on the way back to the pits and he was forced to retire the car. Max effectively ended Lando’s race, but he got to continue on in fifth position after stopping for tires. For a penalty to actually punish and provide negative reinforcement toward changing behavior, it needs to have teeth. The FIA have watched Max break the blocking and overtaking-off-track rules time and time again, and have done nothing to influence Max to change his actions. We’ll keep seeing it unless something serious is done.
This analysis is correct, if you ask me. Lando had tried up the inside a few times and Max had moved over on him too many times for the move to stick. After he tried the outside, Max chose to ram his car right into Norris, not leaving the series-mandated car’s width on the outside for the Papaya car to exist. It’s a common theme with Verstappen, as he will use every inch of road to push someone off when given the opportunity. It’s a win-win for him, because the driver behind will either let off earlier and tuck in behind, or be forced off track and be required to cede the position anyway.
I’ve never been a fan of Max’s “you back off or we both crash” racing style. It seemed to die down for a little bit, but it seems it was only because he was so far ahead of the rest of the field. With a seemingly more competitive field catching up to him, the old Max is back. The 26-year-old three-time F1 World Champion has a lot of growing up to do.
Do you want to see more of his shitty driving? Here’s a bunch of it.