Verstappen is cast as the villain but doesn’t deserve to be vilified
MAXVERSTAPPEN will be public enemy No.1 at Silverstone today. He is the man who stopped Lewis Hamilton winning the world championship last season and in a seriously controversial manner.
He is also the man who had to try to defend the indefensible in the build-up to the British Grand Prix as the de facto spokesman for Nelson Piquet.
He will know whose backyard he is in alright.that much was clear from the frosty reception he received when he was introduced in practice.
This race is one of the highlights of the summer sporting calendar, a vibrant celebration of driver and machine. It mixes glamour and grit like few other events.
Partisanship is inevitable – welcome even – but adulation for Hamilton should not spill over into vindictiveness for Verstappen.
The world champion does not need anyone’s sympathy and would not ask for it. He may not be anyone’s idea of warm and cuddly but neither is he Dr Evil.verstappen was placed in the tightest of corners by the grubby attack on Hamilton by Piquet.
Given he is the father of the woman he is dating, one false step and he could have ended up either persona non grata or labelled a racist sympathiser. Little wonder he took his time with his response.
Verstappen was pilloried initially for his silence on the toxic topic of the moment but his take, when it came, revealed him in a thoughtful and measured light. He did not bury Piquet – how could he, given the domestics of the situation? – but he offered some sage advice to the Brazilian.
When it comes to the use of racist language – or language that could be translated in a racially derogatory way – button it.
Verstappen’s forgiving stance after Piquet’s apology will not wash for many but whatever your view on that or whether the former driver should be allowed into an F1 paddock again, the current champion was clear on the main issue.
Racism is repugnant. It has no place in Formula 1 or society. End of story.
ON a personal level, it is pretty clearverstappen does not care much for Hamilton and vice versa. In terms of personality, background and generation, they are from different worlds. But there is a line and whatever the level of enmity, Verstappen had no difficulty in recognising it.
The 170mph collision between the two at Silverstone that put the Dutchman in hospital underlined the bad blood on both sides in their title battle last season.
Hamilton was blamed by the stewards and rightly so, although it should be remembered that when the Briton tried the same move on the same corner later in the race, Charles Leclerc moved aside.
Verstappen is a different racing animal to Leclerc but his single-minded approach has not stopped him developing genuine friendships around the paddock.
His relationship with his main title rival this season remains solid, as it is with other drivers he came up against like George Russell and Lando Norris.
Verstappen is not out to fight injustice like Hamilton or save the planet like Sebastien Vettel, his world view is more limited.
He is on the grid purely to conduct the business of racing and to win but that should not count against him in the court of public opinion.when he was 24, Hamilton was much the same.
With Mercedes diminished and Ferrari’s mishaps this season, a second successive title at Red Bull looks to beverstappen’s for the taking with six wins in nine races. Hard to love he may be unless you are decked out in orange, but it is hard to argue with the numbers.
Hamilton may have the home support today but respect – grudging or otherwise – is still due to the world champion.*