Damon Hill, a former Formula One world champion, accused Max Verstappen of ‘using fear and intimidation’ during his media day interviews at the Brazilian Grand Prix. After being strongly attacked for his driving in Mexico, the Dutchman dug down on his assertions of ‘British bias’.
Verstappen received two 10-second time penalties for incidents at Turns Four and Eight on the same lap during the Mexican Grand Prix, in which he shoved Lando Norris wide and off the track.
Johnny Herbert, who had chastised Verstappen for his behavior during the Singapore Grand Prix press conference earlier this season, was one of the stewards in Mexico and is now in Brazil. The three-time world champion responded in Interlagos on Thursday.
Hill was unimpressed by Verstappen’s brazen words. “I believe he is using fear and intimidation,” he told Sky Sports F1 on Friday. “He has also stated a little bit more about his strategy, which is that he sees it as a bet.
“Sometimes it pays off, sometimes he gets the best of the stewards, and they may not impose a penalty. He’s also using it to undercut title challenger Lando Norris. So his rage is not without logic and method.
“He says he knows what he’s doing, but is it right and fair?” He continued: “I believe I have a clear understanding of Max. He has been consistent since his arrival in Formula One.
“He was utilizing unsafe techniques, and restrictions were enacted to address some of the issues that he had created for himself as a result of the way he drove. The FIA, of course, imposes laws to attempt to contain it, because they do not want racing to be like this.
“They don’t want unsafe scenarios, like shifting the line under a braking area, which he used to do as well. So they added regulations to address this. When he mentions individuals, he does not mean individuals. There is nearly universal criticism.
“That is the point. This is not a vengeance against Max. It is simple that those who watch the racing want it to be performed in a decent and equitable manner. If everyone did this, it would be ridiculous and uninteresting to watch.
“We prefer close racing. We’re in Sao Paulo, where it all began briefly in 2021, with him running deep into turn four. And everyone said, “Wait a minute, you can’t just run the guy off the road to defend, and he’s still doing it.”
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