Since Dutchman Max Verstappen was promoted to the Red Bull senior team, he has often come under fire for his aggressive driving style which all came to a head at the Belgian Grand Prix last weekend.
I believe that Verstappen races hard and pushes the limits; but generally does not exceed those limits. Nothing he did at the Belgian Grand Prix last weekend broke any of the sporting rules and he did nothing that former multiple world champions Schumacher and Senna would not have done. I believe F1 to be a shadow of it’s former self with it’s blame/penalty mentality, hardly anything is just a racing incident.
I would not exactly call myself a fan of Verstappen; but i will defend his driving style, personally I like his driving style; although his off track attitude needs some work. It feels like Verstappen is an old school driver displaced in time, back in the 90s, he would have fit in perfectly as this sort of driving mentality was common and stewards chalked most accidents upto a racing incident, unlike today’s Health & Safety F1.
I believe that Verstappen, given that he is only 18 years old and is already in his second year in F1 has not had the relevant experience in motorsport and sometimes that inexperience shows. Something that both Daniel Ricciardo and Lewis Hamilton have said this weekend in Monza. To that issue, should the FIA force drivers to have to compete in a lower single seater formula for a minimum of 3 years before driving in F1?
Charlie Whiting, FIA race director has given Verstappen a “gentle warning” about his driving style. This is a warning that I feel is unwarranted as Verstappen did not break any sporting rules at Spa. Hamilton performed a much more dangerous move in Monaco this year, chopping across the front of Ricciardo almost putting the Australian into the Armco barrier, but no-one criticized or warned Hamilton.
I have been thinking; if I had never seen F1 before; would the current ruleset, both technical and sporting have attracted me to the sport and I find the answer to be NO. I found F1 in 1989 where the racing was hard, no stupid limits on fuel usage or tires and it was glorious. In 2016, F1 is dull; most of the little excitement we see is in the midfield, where Verstappen and former team mate Carlos Sainz were battling.
In my view, F1 drivers today are a bunch of pussies constantly bleating on about injustices; and in my view Vettel is the worst of them. Incidentally, Vettel was the driver that caused the first corner incident at Spa turning in on Raikkonen and Verstappen, Raikkonen was giving space to the Dutchman when the German clattered into Raikkonen which caused the contact with Verstappen, the video replays clearly proves this.
I understand that my views are going to be unpopular, but I grew up watching F1 with drivers that battled hard, weaved back and forth trying to break the tow of the car chasing; something that has been dead since the creation of DRS which makes most passes “highway” overtakes, where’s the excitement in that?
