Controversial Max Verstappen is back and how. Engaged in a tense battle with Lando Norris for the Austrian GP race lead, the duo made contact with 7 laps to go. The McLaren driver DNFed, but the reigning world champion continued after swapping onto the Soft tires. Social media went ablaze after this incident between the two good friends and Verstappen faced the wrath of F1 fans. And many highlighted how Norris became the new Lewis Hamilton, the man who Verstappen last fought so close for victories.

In 2015, when Max Verstappen entered F1, his aggressive defensive tactics forced F1 to introduce a rule change. Moving under braking was banned. However, the Dutchman continued his aggressive racing, exploiting the grey areas within the rules. But the last time the 3-time champion was accused of dirty driving was in 2021 when he was still championship-less, trying to snatch the crown from Hamilton. After that, all we saw was a maturing racer avoiding unnecessary trouble.

That side came out again at the Austrian GP after Lap 52. After an unusually slow pit stop of 6.5 seconds, Verstappen’s lead of over 7 seconds to Norris reduced to <1 second. Doubling down the pressure, the McLaren ace made some overambitious moves which caused Verstappen to change lines under braking. Norris called out this illegal move on team radio, but to no avail. F1TV Presenter Will Buxton took to X to highlight this rule break. “Haven’t seen that side of Max for a long time. Late moves under braking.”: he wrote.

His statement drew many responses from agitated fans, each bashing Verstappen for resorting to such cheap tactics.

Max Verstappen’s “true self” angers fans as Lando Norris suffers consequences

The last prime example of Max Verstappen’s aggressive driving was in Monza 2021. His overambitious lunge on Lewis Hamilton out of Turn 1 caused a dramatic crash, forcing a double retirement. However, at the Red Bull Ring today, it was barely an overtake attempt from Lando Norris that caused the collision. Norris was seemingly just slotting behind Verstappen on the outside of Turn 3 but the latter squished his friend too close to the outside and forced contact.

All that social media users could see was vintage, immature Verstappen returning with McLaren increasing the pressure on him. One fan recalled the Dutchman’s hostile defense from the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, where he won his first championship against Hamilton. It was a less-noticed detail overshadowed by the Michael Masi controversy.

Post-race, F1 analysts focused on how Verstappen finally dialed back to his young, aggressive self on the first mention of pressure from his rivals which he hasn’t face in the ground-effect era, courtesy Adrian Newey. An X user succinctly put this point forward, calling out the Red Bull driver’s “true self”.

After his first championship, Verstappen kept evolving not only as a racer but also a person. His candor was appreciated and his maturity was lauded. But his on-track moves against Norris threw all that out the window. But it also showed how exciting F1 has become, with the reigning champion facing the music.

Another fan emphasized on how Norris will now experience firsthand what the 7-time champion from his homeland went through in 2021. Well, Norris might not be the new Hamilton just yet, but Verstappen will ensure that his friend actually earns a victory, if and when he does.

While some fans wrapped their feelings under a blanket of controlled expression, one outrightly accused Verstappen of “dirty driving”. However, as more reactions rolled in, they weren’t alone.

“I gave a fair, respectful battle but that’s not what I got in return,” said a heartbroken Norris post-race. He even refused to apologize, saying, “I did nothing wrong. He was the one in the wrong.” Surprisingly, Verstappen was very respectful in his comments post-race, not blaming his rival for any move. Maybe he knew he was in the wrong or was waiting to see more footage from the race. Nonetheless, the battle for P1 is on nothing can stop F1 from being enthralling again.