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Former world champion believes Verstappen ‘let himself down’ by using tactics to stop title rival Lando Norris overtaking him
Damon Hill has likened Max Verstappen to villain Dick Dastardly in the cartoon Wacky Races and alleged that Red Bull’s triple world champion was incapable of racing “fairly” because it is not in his nature to do so.
Verstappen’s driving is under huge scrutiny once again after successive race weekends in which the Dutchman engaged in on-track skirmishes with title rival Lando Norris.
In Austin two weekends ago, Norris was handed a five-second penalty for passing Verstappen off track. The Briton complained afterwards that Verstappen had also left the circuit defending the position. His McLaren team unsuccessfully appealed the penalty.
In Mexico last weekend, however, the stewards sided with Norris, handing Verstappen a combined 20-second penalty for forcing the McLaren driver off the track on two occasions.
Norris described Verstappen’s driving in real time as “dangerous”, while Zak Brown, McLaren’s CEO, said the Dutchman’s attempts to stop his driver progressing were “ridiculous”, adding “enough is enough”.
New angles of THAT Verstappen-Norris clash in Mexico 🇲🇽👀 pic.twitter.com/ptYIouJCpV
Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast before this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix – the third leg of a triple-header that sets up the final part of the season – Hill said he agreed with Brown about the incidents in Mexico.
“On the exit of Turn 4, Max clearly makes a beeline for the edge of the track to prevent Lando from having any chance at all,” the 1996 world champion said of the pair’s first coming together.
“The area footage is very clear. He made no attempt to back off and make the corner and leave room for Lando. It was simply a case of ‘you are not coming through’.
“The second move was just daft and Dick Dastardly stuff. He accelerated to the apex and drove Lando off the track and Lando didn’t have much option. That was silly driving.”
Hill went even further, saying that Verstappen had “let himself down” with his actions.
“He has such brilliance, and such competitive spirit, but I don’t think that was something to be proud of,” Hill said.
“It is possible to race fairly, and that is something I am not sure Max is capable of. It is not in his repertoire, it is not in his philosophy. His philosophy is ‘You are not coming past’.”
An eternity for Max ⌛He serves his 20-seconds worth of penalties during his first pit stop ⏱️ pic.twitter.com/J5hRMfya0z
Norris finished second in Mexico City, while Verstappen was only able to manage sixth, so the British driver is 47 points behind in the title race, with 120 points to play for in the final four rounds.
Put to Hill that Verstappen was driving aggressively because he was embroiled in a championship battle with Norris, Hill replied: “Yes, but that is the challenge.
“They say that sport doesn’t build character, it shows character, and his default is to revert to preventative methods rather than trying to keep it within the bounds of fairness. You shouldn’t be allowed to use your car as a weapon and simply block the track.”
Plenty of drivers were canvassed in Mexico for their views on Verstappen’s style and some were more supportive than others.
Lewis Hamilton, who famously had a similar experience to Norris at the 2021 Brazilian Grand Prix, said it was a “grey area” in the regulations. “That’s why he’s got away with it for so long,” Hamilton said. “I mean, yeah, they probably need to make some adjustments for sure.
“I experienced it many times with Max, you shouldn’t be able to just launch the car on the inside and be ahead and then you go off and still hold your position. So they need to definitely work on this.”
Charles Leclerc, of Ferrari, was more supportive, saying Verstappen’s style was to be always “at the limit of the regulations” but added that was what made him so exciting to race against.
“Sometimes it goes a little bit over, but yeah, that’s what makes Formula 1 exciting,” Leclerc said. “Those fights make it exciting.”