“I like drivers to be reverential”, F1 pundit slams Max Verstappen’s overt celebrations after Miami GP victory
F1 pundit Pete Windsor has slammed Max Verstappen for being a show-off after his victory at the Miami GP.
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The Miami Grand Prix was, above all else, a Max Verstappen masterclass. The Dutchman started from the ninth position on the grid, steered through the host of cars ahead of him with that surprising Red Bull power, and finally got the first position in the race. Fans cheered as Max proved to his critics why he deserves to win his third World Championship this year, thus completing an F1 title hattrick and entering into an elite group of legendary racers who have achieved this feat in the past.
The Florida race was very important for Max’s 2023 Championship campaign since he went into the weekend with a narrow advantage of only 6 points over his own teammate and closest competitor Sergio Perez. Should Checo have won the street race after his resounding victory at the Baku GP the previous week, he would have come to lead the Championship for the first time in his career. And it seemed like the Mexican had the best opportunity to win in Miami after getting pole position on Saturday.
But Max Verstappen silenced all his critics as he climbed up the ranks from his P9 spot and reached the top by surpassing Perez within 57 laps of the race. When he had finally won, he expressed his joy by pointing at the #1 sign on his RB-19, showing fans why he deserves to be the Champion. But F1 pundit Pete Windsor felt Max should have shown more humility after his victory, as he said, “What was he doing pointing at No.1 on his car? He is No.1 in the world. Isn’t that what his fans expect him to be doing? I personally don’t like any of that. You want my opinion; I don’t like it.“
Pete Windsor believes Max Verstappen is trying to “copy all the football stars”
In football, it is quite often seen that the players engage in massive celebration after scoring a goal in the matches. When Max Verstappen put up an overt show after winning the Miami GP, Pete Windsor felt he was emulating for rowdy footballers. He said, “I like drivers to be very reverential and all athletes copy all the football stars.”
Windsor continued, “To me it’s like, ‘I’m very lucky to be in a good car, good team. Hope I did a good job today, and I would like to a pay lot of compliments to my fellow competitors and be very humble about this.’ Jim Clark-esque.“
Now, Max Verstappen has built a 14-point gap between himself and Sergio Perez after his Miami masterclass. But this advantage can fall apart any moment as Perez has vowed to aim for the Championship this year with all his might. Even Checo’s father said his son deserves to win the World title, and that Max’s rivalry with Sergio is similar to the one between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.
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Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)