During the 2024 Formula 1 season, Max Verstappen was on the spotlight for his aggressive driving style after his controversial battles with Lando Norris in Austin and Mexico. This brought a lot of negative comments from fans and pundits alike. Now, former F1 Champion Damon Hill has given his perspective on the matter during an exclusive interview with the Telegraph.
Back in 2023, the focus was mainly on Max Verstappen’s level of dominance as the RB20 was much more superior than the rest of the grid. Hence, Max did not have much on-track battles with his rivals. But last year, McLaren and Ferrari challenged Red Bull race-after-race. This forced Max to take some defensive manoeuvres against Lando Norris.
Damon Hill criticizes Red Bull for Max Verstappen’s aggressive driving
While many blamed Max Verstappen for his driving style during the 2024 season, Damon Hill believes Red Bull is at fault. Here’s what he said during his exclusive interview with the Telegraph.
“I’m not anti-Max. This is the point. I think Max is brilliant. I like him. I mean, what’s not to like? He’s sensational. But when I felt he overstepped the mark, I said so. think Red Bull have a responsibility, their team management has a responsibility, to the sport, you know?”
“If their driver goes over the limit on occasion, they have a responsibility to say ‘You can’t do that.’ And they don’t. That’s always been my issue with them. That they have almost given Max carte blanche and protected their driver from not sticking to the code, if you like.”
The battle for the title reaches BOILING POINT 🔥🥵#F1 #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/BnvtHTxaQO
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 27, 2024
Damon Hill believes that the Red Bull management, including Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, should be the ones to approach Max and tell him that what he’s doing is wrong. Instead, they both defended Max’s actions.
During the Mexican Grand Prix, Max was handed a 20-second penalty for forcing Lando Norris off the track on two separate occasions. After the race, Christian Horner presented the media with a complete data analysis to defend his driver and to state that Max should not have been penalized.
Damon thinks that Red Bull have given Max full freedom to do what he wants and to say what he wants.
Why has Red Bull given Max Verstappen a ‘Carte Blanche’
There is no doubt that Max Verstappen is the best driver on the grid at the moment. He joined Red Bull Racing at 18 and won his first race with the team, making him the youngest race winner in F1 history. He has now won 4 Drivers’ Championships and is looking to win another one this year.
As a result, he is demanded by every top team in Formula 1. Last year, there were a lot of rumours that suggested that Max could leave the team to join Mercedes or Aston Martin. So it is possible that the Red Bull management decided to give Max Carte Blanche as a show of loyalty towards him, so he will return that loyalty by sticking with the team.
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As it stands, Max has a contract to drive with Red Bull until the 2028 season. However, there are certain exit clauses in place that could allow the Dutch driver to jump ship. But right now, Red Bull is still a top team. As long as it stays that way, Max will not want to leave. But if he feels that he has a better chance of winning with another team, he could choose to do so.
Hence, to keep Max happy at Red Bull, they are giving him a bit of freedom. Do you think Red Bull is giving Max too much freedom on and off the track? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
