Ex-F1 champion blames Max Verstappen for ‘crying like a baby’ over aggressive racing

Former F1 world champion Damon Hill lashed out at Max Verstappen for alleged double standards over aggressive racing.

Ex-F1 champion blames Max Verstappen for ‘crying like a baby’ over aggressive racing

Christian Horner and Max Verstappen (via F1)

Max Verstappen is one of the most controversial figures in the F1 paddock. The Dutch driver is often criticized for his aggressive driving. Now, former F1 champion Damon Hill has hit out at the Red Bull driver over double standards over this style of racing.

In 2024, the reigning world champion had a handful of on-track incidents, particularly with Lando Norris. Max Verstappen has faced the brunt of penalties due to his actions in the past. However, the 27-year-old has never considered changing his style as he continues to succeed in Formula 1.

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Damon Hill highlighted that Verstappen correctly uses to the F1 rulebook to his advantage against rivals in on-track battles, something that others have failed to do. However, the Briton insisted that if a driver did something similar to Verstappen, he would end up ‘crying like a baby.’

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[Last year] Max correctly interpreted to his advantage the rule about overtaking and being ahead at the apex on the inside. There’s nothing in the rules that says you can’t do that. And it’s exciting to see people dive down the inside. Except that no other driver does it. And if someone was to do it to him, he’d cry like a baby.

Damon Hill told The Telegraph

Max Verstappen and Red Bull not the ‘hard kids’ on the block

Hill doubled down on his claims. The former F1 champion reckoned that this had been the norm for Max Verstappen and Red Bull. Damon Hill asserted that Milton Keynes considers itself the tough kids in the paddock. However, he claimed that when things didn’t go right for the Austrian team, they would start to ‘cry about it.’

Christian Horner, Max Verstappen, and Helmut Marko
Christian Horner, Max Verstappen, and Helmut Marko (via IMAGO)

Red Bull simply can’t accept that. No, it really is slightly disappointing, to say the least, that they like to be thought of as the hard kids on the block, but when something doesn’t go their way, they cry about it.

Damon Hill added

Max Verstappen and Red Bull often indulge in a war of words with rivals. The reigning world champion had a fallout with George Russell in front of race control last year. Nevertheless, fans would hope that such situations do not happen in the upcoming season.