From what is known about Max Verstappen, it seems that he is an aggressive driver who has only ever been taught to win. His petulant personality is frequently on display on racetracks, and as a result, many people have described him ‘Mad Max’. Furthermore, due to the Dutchman’s few infamous incidents with Lewis Hamilton, he was recently included on a YouTuber’s list of people he is not a big fan of.
Max Verstappen has been in the news since 2021 for his on-track antics. And if we look at 2021, there were a few highly contentious races that might have painted Max Verstappen in a negative light. One would be the race in Saudi Arabia, where Max Verstappen allegedly ‘break tested’ title challenger, Lewis Hamilton, and even ran him off the road on lap 37. Even in the 2021 Brazilian Grand Prix, while Hamilton was trying his hardest to cut the gap between him and championship leader Verstappen, the Dutch driver put up an aggressive defense. The defense even made the two go off-track on lap 48.
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Taking all of this into consideration, internet personality WillNE, on one of his latest YouTube videos, added Verstappen to his bad books. The YouTuber, with 2.19 million subscribers, claimed that Max Verstappen is a petulant driver. While talking about various celebrities, he said, “Max Verstappen this person right up, this fellow… He never F**g yields, right?”
“And if you don’t watch Formula One, that’s gonna mean nothing. But basically, if he’s a bit slower than someone else and he’s gonna get overtaken, he just drives them off the road every time. He’s a bit petulant. But I think mainly I don’t like him because he’s too f**king fast.”
After giving his analysis, he put Max under the ‘Me Problem’ Category. The other categories the YouTuber had put people in were: Modern Day H***, Bad Vibes, and Harmless.
However, after 2021, many analysts and experts saw a difference in Verstappen’s driving style, and if you can’t figure out what it was, Christian Horner is here to explain.
Christian Horner explains how Max Verstappen has changed
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton engaged in a grueling season-long battle for the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship, and through it all, Verstappen was focused on winning and relieving pressure off his shoulder, which he did. Christian Horner, the boss of Red Bull, believes that his victory in 2021’s fight has helped him race more composedly.
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On the F1 Nation podcast, Horner provided an explanation. He said, “[Verstappen] did a hell of a job last year. Think back to some of the races that he drove under immense pressure. Austin stands out to me as one of the races towards the end of the campaign.”
While talking about the sheer pace Verstappen displayed in 2022, Horner said, “But again, the racing this year has been excellent, and the cars can follow a bit closer. So yeah, he’s definitely built on his experience from last year, and you can see that having won that world championship, he’s just driving with even more maturity.”
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WATCH THIS STORY: Bromance moments between Max Verstappen & Lewis Hamilton
The 2023 season is set to start in less than a month and Verstappen has to face a greater challenge this time around. With all this, do you believe the Dutch Lion can win three straight championships?