Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, 2018

Defiant Verstappen insists “I will never change my approach”

2018 Canadian Grand Prix

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Max Verstappen continues to dismiss questions about his approach to Formula 1 following the crash which ruined his Monaco Grand Prix weekend.

The Red Bull driver started last and finished ninth in Monaco after a crash in practice meant he was unable to participate in qualifying. Team mate Daniel Ricciardo won the race.

“I get really tired of all the comments that I should change my approach,” said Verstappen when asked about the incidents which have dogged his 2018 campaign during today’s FIA press conference. “I will never do that because it got me to where I am right now.

“After a race it’s not the right time to talk. Everybody has those comments, I don’t listen to it anyway, I just do my own thing. Of course at the beginning of the year so far it hasn’t been going so well and not the way I like it. A few mistakes, I think especially Monaco and China.

“But it doesn’t make sense to keep talking about it because I get really tired of it. It just feels like there are no better questions out there than to keep asking me what happened in the previous weekend.

“I’m just focusing on what’s ahead. I’m confident I can turn things around. The speed is there, I’ve always been quick every single weekend. It would be much more of a problem if I was really slow because that’s a critical problem.”

Verstappen denied he has been involved in more incidents this year than in previous seasons. “Just two which were my fault,” he said. “I had, for example, three in one weekend in 2016 in Monaco.”

“Of course I haven’t scored the points which I should have scored but that was not only my fault.”

Asked why he has been involved in so many accidents this year Verstappen replied: “I don’t know. And like I said in the beginning of this press conference I get really tired of all the question. I think if I get a few more I’ll head butt someone.”

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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153 comments on “Defiant Verstappen insists “I will never change my approach””

  1. “I will never do that because it got me to where I am right now.”

    Where you are now Max is under intense scrutiny and pressure after having incidents in each race weekend this season when you are meant to be challenging for the title. It wouldn’t do you any harm to just dial it back every now and then…there is no need to force the issue on every single lap. I’m all for someone having self confidence and self belief but his repeated denials that he needs to temper his approach is now looking like arrogance.

    1. @geemac Agreed. Arrogant children don’t make world champions in F1 He needs to mimic a role model a bit more. Maybe try Ricciardo?

      1. Arrogant children don’t make world champions in F1

        There have been quite a few arrogant world champions in F1, @angie.
        And as much as I support Ricciardo, I wouldn’t put my money on him becoming a WDC before Verstappen.

        1. Agreed, there have been arrogant WDC’s in the past, the difference is they were world champions, Max isn’t yet and never will be if he does not temper his outstanding ability with patience and respect for his peers.

          As for his “head butt” comment, he is a highly paid professional racing driver and needs to learn a bit of personal PR, totally unacceptable behaviour.

    2. Max’s approach has always been arrogant. Thus the lessons will continue to be tough, until he learns. Like I said in another post, I think the FIA emboldened him early on with their inaction, & all the hype has now taken up residence inside his head. Hopefully he’s smart enough to realize the simplest truth: he needs to end up in the points more often than in the barriers (or opponents) if he ever wants that drivers championship. And if he doesn’t win one, he’ll be the biggest waste of talent this sport has ever seen. Certainly in my lifetime, at least.

      1. So much nonsense about Verstappen being a future WDC. He’ll only be a WDC when he’s achieved it. Until then he’s just an arrogant young man with promise. Let’s see him just outpoint his team mate consistently, for a start. He’s not going to be champion this year, and most likely not until Hamilton, Vettel and Ricciardo retire, and then he’ll have to cope with equally fast young drivers like Ocon, LeClerc and others we haven’t even heard of yet, who will be driving for top teams.

        1. It’s not total nonsense. He certainly has all the necessary skills (& so far, a lot of the tools) required to achieve it. The main thing that could prevent it is if he finds himself in a rubbish car, or out of F1 completely (not far fetched… Kvyat & Maldonado were FAR from slow. Just extremely hard-headed). I know he’s not driving in isolation & all those guys you mention certainly have a say. But they won’t be around forever & Max has many years left if he’s smart. Since I’ve been following this sport, all the “young” drivers who have come in with that “future WDC” buzz have delivered: Schumacher, Kimi, Alonso, Lewis, Seb… even Jenson. Verstappen has been hyped more than any of them, debuted earlier than any of them and has proven he definitely has the pace. He also has a Red Bull team firmly in his corner the same way they were with Vettel. I’m certainly not the biggest fan of F1’s newest hot-head, but like I said: if he doesn’t win at least one (or mount a serious challenge down to the wire, at least) he’ll go down as the biggest waste of talent this sport has seen, IMO. Ocon & LeClerc have the hype (& I definitely think they have the skill) but not the platform to show their best yet.

          1. Re-read what I wrote. By the time Verstappen is in a position to win a WDC other young drivers, just as fast as he, maybe with better track craft too, will be in top teams. It won’t be easy for Max to become WDC, even though he’s fast. All Max has is promise, maybe even great promise. Lots of fast drivers never won the championship. Let’s wait and see.

    3. John Toad (@)
      8th June 2018, 1:34

      The definition of madness: ‘Repeating the same actions over and over again but expecting a different outcome’

      1. Quite fitting…

      2. Definition of arrogance…?

        He’s been accused of be arrogant many times, usually by people who want his to change, I’de say isn’t a bit arrogant to think he will change cause people want him to change…? He can not be guided by the media, he will be guided by a small group of people… father, manager and team. The rest are just opinions… what if Lauda says left, and Steward says right…which direction should Verstappen go…?

        At age 17 youngest f1 driver ever, at age 20 he’s been rated 2nd best driver on the grid, must have done something right along the way…

      3. @ceevee Like asking a bloke the same question over and over and expecting a different answer?

  2. If Lewis or Seb had flippantly said they’d headbutt someone, the media would be blowing up.

    Because its max its just a notable comment from the interview.

    Funny old world.

    1. Exactly.

    2. Hahaha Red Bull red mist. Imagine Ted Kravitz or Kai Ebel getting a headbutt.

    3. Peppermint-Lemon (@)
      7th June 2018, 18:37

      Like father like son. My respect for him has now gone.

    4. He was replying to that Mcevoy guy from Daily Mail though, so probably ok to forgive Max this time.

      1. GtisBetter (@)
        7th June 2018, 22:05

        Asking “why have you been involved in so many accidents this year” is the same as asking a football player why he shoots wide so many times. I don’t think max should have said the headbut thing, even if it was a joke, but jeez. Plenty of these journalist are asking questions of such a low quality, it’s a miracle the press conference produces anything of value. This is not only in f1. Sports seem to have an abundance of people asking stupid question to athletes.

        1. \luckily, we have Kimi to deal with these stupid press questions… :)

        2. Lucky for us all, we have Kimi to deal with these stupid press questions… :)

        3. Jeremy Smith
          8th June 2018, 0:01

          Ditto, I could not aggree more…

        4. I think that question was a direct response to the headbutt comment – just to stir it. It was from the Daily Heil (Mail) if I remember correctly so perfectly in tune with their modus operandi.

          1. Now now. The Guardian did it too (among their leftist propaganda, but let’s keep that out of it shall we)

      2. If that’s true, I’m not surprised. That doesn’t sound like the sort of question you’d ask if you were after a sensible answer. He probably wanted exactly the sort of agitated sound bite Max dutifully gifted him. Expect to see some overblown reference to “Mad Max” on the back page of the Mail tomorrow…

    5. Unsurprising from a twenty-nothing-year-old squirt.

  3. This is like something out of a reality TV show, you couldn’t cast this character any better! A part of me wants to see him bin it again just for the reactions :P On with the show!

    1. Todd (@braketurnaccelerate)
      7th June 2018, 18:19

      A part of me wants to see him bin it again just for the reactions

      For me, it’s more than just a part. I really want to see him bin it.

      1. Well, keep in mind the next GP is on a track with a very particular wall…
        I’ll definitely be keeping my fingers crossed ;]

        1. Well he certainly has you guys on the edges of your seats. So it is true: Max makes F1 exiting again.

          1. Max won’t make me leave.

          2. Max makes F1 exiting again

            Wonderful typo!

        2. Please don'[t post anymore of these comments on a Racefans forum please! It’s sickening and below low to make comments like that just because you don’t like a F1-driver! Grow up!!!

          1. It’s a nasty habit to wish a driver to crash?! So don’t

      2. I’ve never wanted to see him WIN it more, lol. I’ll headbutt someone, lol…fantastic stuff.

    2. F1 as a reality TV show. Save this comment.

  4. He’s driven well and been a victim of circumstances after safety cars. Take those away and he was having good solid races, with a podium to boot.

    1. He could’ve won a race because of a Safety Car, instead turn it on a result worst than where he was before it. All by his own hand.

      1. and he could have won every race with the right safety cars because he’s driven well and been up there. He’s been quick, he’s made good starts. He actually needs to be more assertive not less. He needs to rub wheels with Hamilton and Vettel again asap, their luck will run out soon.

        1. @bigjoe, you must have been watching some very different races if you think that Verstappen could have won every single race – the only race where he was remotely close to being able to do that was in China, which he threw away, but in no other race has he been close enough to be in with a chance of winning the race through a strategic gamble during a safety car period.

          1. Which RIC trew away form him! don’t change the facts

          2. @ronald-1972 How did Ricciardo cause Verstappen crashing into Vettel?

            Or are you confused with Baku where Verstappen kept weaving until Ricciardo had nowhere else to go but the back of Verstappen’s car?

          3. Nowhere else to go because he couldn’t possibly have backed off a millimeter on the loud pedal.

          4. No, I was watching the same races, naturally. The problem here is that I didnt start the ‘coulda shoulda’ thing. I was being hypothetical. He didn’t throw anything away.
            He wouldn’t have been on fresh tyres in a normal race against Vettel and Hamilton, so we’d never be here criticising him. It’s getting petty now.

    2. @bigjoe
      Which season are you talking about? Are you even talking about Max?

      The only notable influence a safety car has had in any of his races was in Spain, where he gained a podium position because of it. The other was in China, where it presented him with a chance to win the race but he binned it.

      He hasn’t been as good as Ricciardo this year, which is not great for him considering how well he performed against him last season.

      1. Verstappen gained a podium cause of the SC in spain? Not really, vettel decided to pit during VSC, had it not been for that he’d have been further behind.

        I’d say he gained a podium thanks to ferrari’s silly decision (no matter what vettel says, I’d like to rewind and let him try to go to the end of the race).

        1. Verstappen gained a podium cause of the SC in spain? Not really, vettel decided to pit during VSC, had it not been for that he’d have been further behind.

          I don’t understand what you’re trying to say. A safety car period (VSC) appeared, because of which Vettel pitted and lost a position to Max. If there wasn’t a safety car period, he probably wouldn’t have gained that position. Regardless of who’s fault it was, a VSC worked in his favour.

      2. @todfod
        ‘Which season are you talking about? Are you even talking about Max?’

        errr errm I dunno , errm errm, let me see, errr I think it was err this season….. There was this guy who changed to fresh tires after a safety car in China errr I think errrm errm yeah sure it was China err maybe….. and finding himself going even quicker, got himself racey and a bit too excited (having earlier driven superbly, overtaking Lewis who has a far quicker car) now with more speed he went on to make an acceptable error for which he suffered track position yet people want him lynched . He then went on have a collision in another over-excited attempt for an overtake, an OVERTAKE! the liberty of it, can’t be having that in F1. For for which he admitted “I should have waited” . People now want him banned.

        I think it was errm Max somebody. Yeah Max, that was the kid’s name.

  5. If I were Red Bulls management, I’d wrap Max in cotton wool and keep him away from the media for a while.

    If they don’t, he’s going to have a serious melt down and will be no good to anybody. As soon as the media smells blood, they’ll go into a feeding frenzy and drive him over the edge.

    1. I’ve seen longer interviews with him; he seems a very stable person, who does not easily get upset by what the media and others say about him, @dbradock.
      I think the media – and some commenters – get more excited about this than he does.

      That said, he should tone it down a bit. Better for his points tally, and better for the questions he’ll get asked.

      1. @coldfly that’s the point. Up until now, he’s seemed to handle the press and negative comments well. His comments at a press conference today (yesterday) indicated that it IS getting to him and he didn’t handle it well.

        What I was suggesting was management needs to help out by relieving a bit of that pressure by keeping him out of the media spotlight to help him calm down a bit.

        1. management needs to help out by relieving a bit of that pressure by keeping him out of the media spotlight to help him calm down a bit.

          Agreed, @dbradock.

  6. I don’t blame him for insisting that this approach got him to where he is, because he’s right. His speed and aggression is part of who he is.

    That being said, if you want to challenge for a title, you have to take things easier than you normally would. You can’t go all out every single time, you need to consider the risk-reward ratio more carefully… pushing hard in FP3 at Monaco while racing the winning car isn’t that clever, for instance. Trying the outside on Lewis Hamilton on a very fast left hander, while having the advantage of fresher tyres and the availability to overtake somewhere safer isn’t clever either.

    He’s made some bad decisions lately. He might not want to change his approach to racing, but he should understand better the inherent risk to that approach. Saying it’s not his fault he’s not scored more points is just stubborn.

    1. “Trying the outside on Lewis Hamilton on a very fast left hander, while having the advantage of fresher tyres and the availability to overtake somewhere safer isn’t clever either.”


      Not one bit unexpected for a 20 year old. We’ve all done it.
      He’s about as mature as you can go for his age though, with a potential 20 years ahead of him if he wanted it. in 10-20 years time these early flaws wont even stand-out against Hamilton’s or Senna’s. Hamilton actually got more criticism (‘he’ll kill someone’ ) in his 5th year in F1

      1. I’m still waiting for the onboard of Hamilton of this incident. Suspect him of steering briefly to the outside there. Wonder why that was never released.

        1. @John Because of the global conspiracy to make Hamilton look like a saint, obviously!

          1. Thanks! never thought of that!

      2. @bigjoe well, you could say, then, that he arrived too quickly and should’ve spent more time in lower formulas.

    2. Maybe his speed and aggression were appropriate before F1?

  7. Well, the hype and excitement about him are slowly waning off. Ricciardo beating him is becoming a trend and he doesn’t have any excuse for it anymore.

    His personality was ok when he was 17 or 18 and was a rookie with very little previous experience. Now he will soon be 21 with a whole four complete seasons. It only makes him sound cocky and unlikeable. And unable to learn from obvious mistakes.

    1. Similar to Lewis then in his 5th season

      _

      14 Jun 2011
      Former three-time F1 World Champion Niki Lauda has warned the FIA that if nothing is done to curb Lewis Hamilton’s on-track aggression, ‘it will result in someone getting killed’.

      https://www.crash.net/f1/news/170305/1/hamiltons-driving-will-end-in-someone-getting-killed

      1. well, by this time Hamilton already had more than 15 wins and pole positions to his name, not considering he was ALREADY A WORLD CHAMPION.

        He could retire at the ennd of that year he would still be satisfied with his career. Verstappen is nothing more than a lousy guy yet.

        Do you really want to make this comparison?

        1. other thing is, Hamilton drove 4 fine seasons before 2011, and other fine seasons after it. It clearly was a slump year for him.

          Verstappen is involved on controversy since he joined Red Bull.
          I don’t see a slump there. It is the way he drives. Sometime is pays off, but more often than not, it doesn’t.

        2. Whoow chill Ed! He’s the one driving a F1-car and won a few races! Like every lousy guy in F1 – yeah sure

      2. @bigjoe Yes, Hamilton had a poor season in 2011. Wanting too much from a car that just wasn’t good enough, a team letting him down with bad stops and bad calls. It even got so bad that Button clearly put Hamilton in the wall (on a straight no less) and Hamilton got blamed for it! Not by the stewards though, they blamed Button, but the press/public did.

        So, did Hamilton change his “approach” or did he keep on acting in the same overly risky way after he learned from that season?

        Hamilton learned from that season. That’s what won him the title in 2017. While Vettel kept getting involved in incidents with several drivers losing points over and over. Hamilton kept mostly out of incidents and scored his points, only taking risks when he absolutely had to.

        Actually pretty similar to how Button won his WDC in 2009. People pretend the Brawn car was unbeatable, but it really wasn’t. It mostly looked like that because Button masterfully applied risk taking when needed and point collecting when risk taking would not have rewarded him. Instead of just collecting points, Vettel crashed out during three of the first seven races (Australia, Malaysia and Monaco) plus damaging his car in Hungary and Singapore.

        Verstappen clearly still has not learned the lesson he needs to learn. Otherwise he will only ever be able to become WDC if he has a car that can lead from pole to finish with a team mate not seriously allowed to challenge him.

  8. He literally just said that he changed his approach at Monaco to get the car home.
    He needs to just mature a little I think, these statements are looking a little silly now.

  9. Wont be winning any WDCs anytime soon then Max!

    1. Why not? When he has one of those he’ll be running away from the pack.

      1. Sorry…when he has a WDC capable car that is.

      2. @robbie you don’t need to go into “ifs” and “whens”. RIC has already won two races this year, with the exact same car. RedBull has a WDC capable car, probably not as good overall as the Merc or the Ferrari, but they definitely can fight in most tracks and are the top of the field in some. He HAS to change his approach, he’s barely ahead of Alonso and the McLaren isn’t even best of the rest.

        1. Lol how does a car ‘probably not as good overall as the Merc or Ferrari’, and trailing them, and known all along to be at it’s relative best at only the Monaco type tracks, suddenly become a WDC contender? DR won a race that had the timing of a vsc and then safety car favour RBR and disfavour SV, and then a mistake by Max handed it to DR who ended up against tire disadvantaged VB. Hey, that can happen, but it’s not like RBR were stamping their authority on the race prior to the caution time, nor like DR was ahead of Max for the first two thirds of the race. And Monaco was always going to be a good track for RBR. They will continue to need attrition of others, or safety car luck, to win more races this season. Merc and Ferrari will continue to get the bulk of the poles and front and second row starts. But when Max legitimately has a WCC and therefore WDC level car, that will be a completely different story.

  10. Thing is when he got his podium it was tumbleweed on F1 forums…. quick let’s find another subject or bash someone else
    In the same way ‘Honda embarrasing McLaren’ went over the cliff.

    Anyone would think we were 3/4 through the season and Riccairdo had dominated him.

    1. Yeah and now McLaren is embarrassing McLaren.

    2. Don’t need to be 3\4 of the season to say verstappen has been dreadful this season, every race you can say he’ll get better, I actually hope cause he’s fast, but then the next accident makes it so he’s had 6 out of 7 dreadful races and so on and we get to 3\4 of the season!

  11. Hahaha the kid has 3 wins and talks like he conquer the world.
    Pathetic. It’s time to Horner put the kid in his place.

    1. Hahaha the kid has 3 wins

      Wow, that’s impressive.
      And he’s only 20; even more impressive :p

  12. christianedward (@)
    7th June 2018, 17:54

    There is absolutely no reason to be giving it 110% in FP3, with 15 mins to go before qualifying. If the guy can’t see he’s wrong on that one there’s is no hope for him. Red Bull had the car to 1-2 in Monaco and Max threw that away. That was not the performance of a future world champion.

    1. He DID admit he made a mistake in China and Monaco.
      I can understand he’s getting tired of the same questions, but his remark about headbutting might not be the wisest.

    2. @christianedward
      I completely agree. He needs to mature enough to understand when to be aggressive and when to avoid unnecessary risks. He should be in the WDC hunt this year, but it’s his own mistakes that have already ruined his chances to fight.

      He might be a fast and exciting driver, but without proper usage of his brain he’ll never be a serious title contender. Let’s see if he races with the same reckless abandon when he’s leading a championship, and then let’s see how that approach works out for him. I’d also like to see how he reacts to another aggressive and risky racing driver who has nothing to lose, tangles with Max when he’s fighting for the championship.

      Honestly, the fact that he still says he’s made only 2 mistakes so far is what really bothers me. He should recognise that he’s made at least 6 mistakes this season. If he can’t admit it to himself… he’s going nowhere in this sport despite all his talent.

      1. Kimi was so right about his driving…at that time everyone was saying he is so exciting …he is exciting but without proper head on his shoulders he will mess up his career. Too much arrogance.

        1. Who has the most WDC-titles? Oh yeah humble Michael Schumacher.

          1. Who never learnt from his mistakes? Oh yeah the legendary Pastor Maldonado.

          2. Ex-Formula 1 driver Pastor Maldonado has said it is “inappropriate” for comparisons to be made between himself and Max Verstappen.

          3. Schumacher however wasn’t very mistake prone, don’t remember a season where he made as mant mistakes as verstappen did this season.

            True that verstappen is still younger than schumacher ever was in f1, but he literally got worse on his 4th season, mistakes-wise (and yes, I read the article, don’t agree).

          4. @esploratore

            Schumacher cracked under pressure several times more than drivers who others would put below him.
            The worst was when Hill started taking chunks out of his lead at Adelaide and whilst responding he drove into the wall. He did the same at Monaco (96 I think) when Hill took him off the start from his pole he smacked into the wall again trying to catch up.
            Nurburgring 2003? Montoya had him on the outside and he had brain wobble and took himself out.

      2. @todfod
        was your brain fully developed at only 20? I have three nephews of similar age and their’s certainly arnt. Everyone around them remembers what it was like to be their age and cuts them some slack.

        It wasn’t his fault that Red Bull suffocated him in money to stop the two better teams taking him away. At his age he is also likely to still listen to and look up to his father however good or bad that turns out to be for him. Lewis got shot of his old man when he finally grew up.

        Also he certainly wouldnt be in the title hunt this year if the two better teams had his or Riccairdo’s quality alongside their number 1s

        1. @bigjoe

          I have three nephews of similar age and their’s certainly arnt.

          Guess it runs in the family.

          It wasn’t his fault that Red Bull suffocated him in money to stop the two better teams taking him away. At his age he is also likely to still listen to and look up to his father however good or bad that turns out to be for him. Lewis got shot of his old man when he finally grew up.

          Also he certainly wouldnt be in the title hunt this year if the two better teams had his or Riccairdo’s quality alongside their number 1s

          Do you even think before you type??

          was your brain fully developed at only 20?

          You’re a heck of a keyboard warrior

          1. @todfod

            I hope you never came here for credibilty.
            Bashing Max is making you look like a right b*ll-end

            I think you need to learn about the Brain’s frontal lobes before missing my point and then trying to make yet another tiring insult out of it.

            So yes, without proof of a brain scan, my frontal lobes probably hadn’t developed by 20.
            I had 2 racing careers. 21-25 and 29-34. My attitude and approach was difefrent in both.
            Max, like most young F1 drivers are actually very mature for the age. Perhaps you need to get out more.

          2. @bigjoe

            I had 2 racing careers. 21-25 and 29-34. My attitude and approach was difefrent in both.

            Hope you weren’t as rubbish behind the wheel as you are behind a keyboard.

    3. Only 15 minutes between FP3 an quali? No wonder they couldn’t fix the car in time!

      1. DR was lucky he only brushed the same barrier Max hit.

  13. So he still hasn’t learned. It is time that RBR put’s him on lone to Torro Rosso.

    1. Why don’t you apply for team manager at RBR? I’m sure you are perfect for the job.

      1. Invisiblekid
        8th June 2018, 18:32

        Really? That tired response.

        I’m not saying they should and Kvyat took more people out with his mistakes but if we go back in time with Daniil in the team and Daniil had Max’s results instead, I bet RB would have also dropped him.

        So it’s not a dumb statement by the OP and also I’m sure said with tongue in cheek.

        I’d keep Max still as he’s obviously a good/better driver, but he ain’t too clever either.

        1. So how do you feel now, after the Canadian GP?

  14. Yes, his approach got him into F1, but aggression and taking chances when the odds are against success isn’t enough to win F1 races, let alone a World Drivers’ Championship. Good driving isn’t spectacular driving. F1 needs drivers who can think when the adrenaline is flowing. Skill isn’t the same as talented, skill combines talent and intelligence.
    By binning his car and Ricciardo’s he successfully prevented Ricciardo from finishing the race ahead of himself, but 14 other drivers did finish ahead of him and 10 of them scored points, all of which benefit them and their team and not himself and his team, two teams scored points that are worth millions of dollars that wouldn’t have, and the team that pays him to drive scored none, loosing those millions of dollars.

  15. On the point of “these accidents are not my fault” – racing skill and car control grant you the ability not to cause accidents, racing experience grants you the ability to avoid accidents. Knowing that you maybe shouldn’t put your nose there or that the guy behind you might not be able to handle himself. That’s the experience that I feel VES may have missed out on due to his fast-track path to F1. He’s got amazing car control but I think he’s missing an X-factor that is filled in by experience.

  16. Adam (@rocketpanda)
    7th June 2018, 18:52

    So he demonstrates brilliantly how he has learnt absolutley nothing. It’s so disappointing to read comments like this from him as he’s not harming anyone else but himself. Such arrogance is not only offputting but unjustified as he has neither the wins, points or championships to excuse it. His ‘approach’ is costing him and his team results and a change of approach, a different mindset would help him a lot – if he can’t see that then he’ll never realise his full potential.

  17. @Title, sooner or latter some change will happen. Either Max will change his approach or his approach will change him.

    When and if RedBull do the math and see they lost a WCC because of his approach… Or when he looses WDC over two, three attitude errors… He will change it or someone else with less talent will beat him overall.

    Take Riciardo, I consider him less talented, but I would bet on him to take the win in team battle.

    1. @jureo

      Spot on. When he loses a championship due to his current approach, that’s when he’ll change. Or else, he’ll change when Red Bull give him orders to help Ricciardo in the championship. It’s either a massive missed opportunity or an ego crushing moment that can help him.

      1. johntodiffer
        8th June 2018, 2:08

        I can only imagine a team order scenario would make some soundbites like Abu Dhabi 2016 and not a lot of change to the running order.

        1. Omg the drama. When he is in a WCC/WDC car, everyone will be eating his dust. He won’t be having to thrash a third place car, just barely able to podium when it’s not Monaco.

          1. The way he’s driving this year, he would be miles behind Vettel and Hamilton even if he had a Mercedes/Ferrari.

          2. The way he drives he will never get into a WDC/WCC car. Maybe you haven’t noticed but there is no team out there anymore that is screaming for Max. The golden boy has lost his shine.

          3. Like I said, omg the drama.

          4. @robbie
            There’s no real ‘drama’ here. Just a statement regarding Verstappens learning curve and the incidents that could alter it.

          5. @todfod You have him losing Championships due to his current approach, and only then will he change. Yeah I’d say that’s drama queen territory. You aren’t actually even giving him a chance for a learning curve, and rather are saying he’ll keep doing this until he’s hit over the head. I say let’s just take it one race at a time, for what choice do we have, unless we want to go into pure speculation territory. Since we do know his pace is not in question, let’s just see what he does with his situation.

          6. You aren’t actually even giving him a chance for a learning curve, and rather are saying he’ll keep doing this until he’s hit over the head.

            @robbie
            Dude.. It’s his fourth season in F1. He’s not a kid anymore.

            The bigger problem is the willingness to develop as a championship contender. If you can’t admit to yourself that you’ve made mistakes and thrown opportunities away, then it’s cause for concern. The fact that he mentions he’s only made 2 mistakes so far is the problem. The spin Australia, crash in Bahrain quali, unnecessary contact with Lewis and weaving in Baku don’t even register as mistakes in his book.

            I agree with you that we need to see how the next segment of races pan out, but so far his mental approach is heading in the wrong direction.

          7. @todfod Got to get going for now but suffice it to say what he says in public to media that is pestering him right now isn’t necessarily an indication of what is going on in his mind, and I’m suggesting by that nobody likely knows more than him what more collisions will do for him at this juncture. I wouldn’t bank on what he is willing to say in public as a full indication of what his true frame of mind is, and what help and advice he has likely gotten from those close to him.

  18. Jackie Stewart: 99 Grand Prix starts
    Max Verstappen: 65 Grand Prix starts

    1. Wow :O

      Jackie Stewart was such a rookie :)

    2. Yeah, but to be fair Stewart drove in an era when there were only 10 to 15 rounds per season. Now we’re at 20+ per year… But I agree, Max isn’t exactly inexperienced as he is a 4th-year driver now. His mistakes don’t really have to do with experience though, the problem is his attitude and mentality and here age clearly does come into play (as immaturity)

    3. Actualy 66 starts … same as Stirling Moss!

  19. good.. might want to call montoya.. as that will be his future.. great talent ..entitled attitude..

    1. Yep, absolutely. I’ve made the Montoya comparison a number of times on RaceFans. JPM was probably the most naturally talented driver of his generation, but he binned it because of his attitude.

      I still have the F1 racing mag issue from 06 published after his stint at Mclaren ended in tears. Peter Windsor summarises the reason for his failure quite succinctly. He wasn’t open to change, and that was that.

      1. Yes, even my father says he’s montoya 2 and I agree too if he continues like this: montoya came in f1 in 2001, I was following back then cause of schumacher and immediately challenged him in brazil, he was always aggressive and they had a few crashes too the following years. Then in 2005 he got lost, destroyed by raikkonen when he should’ve been able to match him, with the talent he showed early on, and left f1 way too early (usa 2006).

  20. “If I get a few more I’ll headbutt someone.”

    Good thing you have the Halo to prevent injury then.

  21. I have been very critical of Verstappen’s driving and attitude this season. And he’s saying all the wrong things now, making quite an idiot of himself even, but this time I think I have to give him a bit of a break (not that he cares what I think obviously haha)

    He already has changed his approach as he took very little risk during the race in Monaco. However, admitting this to a bunch of journalist who constantly keep asking the same questions in 15 different languages would be a tough task for an a mature ego, let alone an immature one. I think his stubborn and ‘tough’ attitude is more of a defense mechanism.

  22. I can imagine the Ferrari and Mercedes team simulation programmes will have a “Verstappen” effect built-in, such is the influence he’s got on the championship – rather unfortunately.

  23. I can understand Max’s attitude, it got him to where he is and he’s been told by media and fans that he’ll be champion since his first season in the sport. It’s a lot for a young man to balance.

    Max is judged at a really high standard because we recognize his talent and see his raw speed. However, that’s not enough to be a multiple time world champion. That requires controlled aggression and the ability to turn it off and on as required and strategically manage an entire season.

    He can say whatever he wants publicly but I hope in private that he has people around him giving him some guidance and keeping him grounded. I’d love to see what his ultimate potential is but to see that he’ll have to evolve and learn to be fast and calculated at the same time. I know he’s only 20 but there’s been a number of people who never managed to add that string to their bow. I’m hoping he doesn’t get added to that list.

    1. He has his father telling him always attack always defend always be aggressive.

  24. Many professional athletes have bad runs after signing a lucrative contract.

    1. And Max is now in his 4th year of a bad run….

      1. Not true man. I’ve been critical of his performances this season, but he was good in 2015, and really good in 2016 & 2017.

        1. He made dangerous moves to kimi, pushed lots of people of track, caused lots of accidents and with his grassive driving style destroyed many parts of his car landing him lots of DNF’s.
          He has been doing the same thing the last 3 years and is still doing them in his 4th year.

          He hasn’t learned, and as long as he keeps listening to his dad he will not learn.

          RBR is realising that now, Mercedes has already seen it and won’t even talk to him before 2021 in the hope he will get his acted together and learn.

          1. Well, how many people did he push off track? And how many accidents, caused by him, resulted in a dnf for him or someone else?
            And how many times did any other driver do that last years?
            I agree that watching someone throwing a chance for a podium or win away, like he did more than once this season is extremely frustrating. But just look at the statistics and see how many drivers made errors during practice and during the race.

  25. When I hear Max making the “head butt” comment, I’m beginning to wonder if he really has what it takes to be great driver, which is different from having great talent. Yes, he has time on his side to grow up but his resolute stubbornness is not a good sign. F1 eats up young talent and there are many great young talents that wind up being footnotes. The question is: will he ever realize he’s not bigger than F1?

    1. It was a joke, get over it.

      1. That was not a joke, you could see the anger on his face and body language. Yes, if asked now he would say “it was a joke”.

        1. So now Max’s crime according to some F1 fans is that he can’t hide his annoyance (that every driver has) with the media.
          Such a finicky sanitized sport, sad.

        2. Yes it was a joke

          Tonight there was an item on Dutch tv that was recorded before the press conference where he made the same joke

          You only see what you want to see but that doesn’t make it the truth

    2. @partofthepuzzle

      When he got that standing ovation from the Brazilian fans (to the extent Lewis never got) he was for a moment bigger than F1. The real shame here, is that in Lewis’s car for the last 5 years Max would have been too out of sight to get involved in the type of mistakes he’s being lynched for.
      He’s making mistakes at desperate moments in an inferior car each time.

      1. >He’s making mistakes at desperate moments in an inferior car each time.

        That’s my point. He’ acting like an immature driver. His unwillingness to address his problems or even contemplate changing is approach shows that he’s also acting like an immature person. He’ll either get and change his act or he’ll wind up a footnote in the long list of talented drivers that didn’t live up to his potential.

  26. I should add that Max has a great example of how to drive and conduct himself in his teammate. If he can’t learn from being with Ricciardo every day, how is he ever going to get it?

    1. johntodiffer
      8th June 2018, 2:13

      The headbutt joke is directly from Ricciardo who’d jokingly offered more than once to rabbit punch media people in Monaco.

  27. Vettel fan 17 (@)
    7th June 2018, 23:00

    While his approach of all or nothing is exciting, he needs to change. Yes it got him were it is, but at this rate it’s not going to make him stay there. A small bit of patience would do him no harm.

  28. I understand why F1 drivers have this attitude, they need to believe in themselves. This is true of all top line sports people. Their mental attitude is just as important as their physical skills. So I think Vestappen is just putting on a brave face. I would not expect him to back down publicly.
    But I would not be supprised if he does try to temper his aggressive style just a little.

  29. The prefrontal lobe – the opposite side of the head butt – doesn’t develop until around 23, that gives more caution and decision making ability, give him a couple of years.

  30. This good pilot has faithfully followed the school of “Singapore Crash” Alonso, that is, the use and abuse of arrogance.
    So possibly he follow the same path of the Spanish, who being “the best driver of formula 1” as almost all claim, has just won two world titles against 4 of Vettel and Hamilton, its direct competitors.

    1. Alonso’s lack of success has nothing to do with verstappen’s lack of success.

      Alonso made bad decisions car-wise and was unlucky with choices, I think the only real bad mistake was fighting hamilton off track in 2007 which caused him and mclaren to split.

      Verstappen makes mistakes on track, his off track decisions so far haven’t been as bad as alonso’s, I was even one of those who said he signed with red bull for 3 years too early in 2017 and that they’d let him down, but this year red bull brought the best car verstappen ever had, he’s the one letting them down.

      1. Letting them down partially. He’s also done some really good things and is lightning fast in that third place car. Every bit as fast as DR in sheer pace. All the potential in the world for Max, and like a WDC level driver eg. DR, just needs the car.

        I think he’ll refine himself sooner than later, because as he said, he doesn’t like it this way. We will see what transpires of course, and in the meantime the other drivers know if they didn’t already that he won’t be changing his approach. Let’s see how the approach does for him going forward. I think it will be a subtley more cautious one. He’s not going to not try to pass, he’s not going to not defend, because that’s his job and his love, and it becomes when he chooses to do those things and how, as he works back toward a way he does like.

        1. @robbie

          This is what people here are missing. There are 4 physical cars faster than his and his done very well to compete. He’s also the driver with the best team mate. Kind of ironically he drove brilliantly and was faster than Riccairdo at China until they got the superior tires courtesy of a well timed stop under the safety car. Suddenly having the faster car seem to upset his composure in some way. I just call it getting too excited. Big deal. In a dominant car he would just lead from start to finish for several seasons. Nobody here can say Lewis or Seb wouldn’t get in trouble driving the Red Bull.

  31. When (if) they make the “Rush” equivalent about Max’s career, they’ll have Daniel Ricciardo punch the lights out of this Daily Mail reporter in the basement after this press conference.

    1. They’ll have an intoxicated Jos the Boss punch the reporter in a basement. Max doesn’t seem to have many friends in the paddock with his on track and off track performances.

      1. 🤦‍♂️

      2. @todfod

        call your witch-hunt off

        1. Was meant to be a joke..

          1. Quite a rubbish one now that I read it again

          2. @todfod

            Jokes arn’t going to work for you here with that childish attitude. You can’t even grasp poster’s context before trying (and failing) to put people down.

          3. @bigjoe

            Stop crying all the time dude.

  32. Verstappen says only 2 of his mistakes were his fault. Come on, own up to your mistakes or you will keep doing them. Maldonado had the same mindset. This is where and how reputations start, and verstappen is heading for a bad reputation unless he pulls his head in.

  33. Come on on people. racefans.net deserves much better than this.
    You are crucifying Verstappen based on him suddenly finding himself with the quicker car during the Chinese GP where two attempts at overtakes went wrong. one of them only he suffered the other he was punished and even admitted he should have waited. We have still not seen him with the same opportunity to ‘wait’ as he’s not been in the quicker car since. If it wasn’t for that safety car that got him and Ric on superior tires we wouldn’t even be talking about him in the negative light or Ric in such a postive light.
    There are 4 faster cars than the two Red Bulls, Red Bull has the best and most entertaining driver line-up and Max has driven well to compete with them all. Dan and Max’s battle at Baku was one of the highlights of the young season so far.
    Seriously you’re turning this into the new Autosport style driver bashing culture.
    Then again there are people on here in order to make Alonso look ‘toxic’ who are happy to pretend Vettel’s behaviour and driving at Ferrari is exemplary when it’s been nowhere near.

    1. @bigjoe
      Tend to agree with that mate, I had a look at Motorsport, which I think is the same as Autosport and the peoples comments were quite pathetic! F1F/Race Fans deserves better & I think mostly it provides a better debate from members. We all get a little heated defending our favourite drivers & opinions but a few of the Max comments are a bit out of line. I find myself as a Ricciardo fan defending Max rather commenting on how well Daniel is driving (maybe after Baku this wasn’t quite the case:) The kid has the talent- he will come good!

      I didn’t mind the ‘head-butt’ comment, just to remind journalist he is a chip of the old block LOL

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