I am like Zlatan, says daredevil Verstappen
MAX Verstappen has insisted he will not change his aggressive approach to racing despite a series of complaints from rival drivers — before likening his style to Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Verstappen has received harsh criticism from Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, former Formula One world champion Jacques Villeneuve, and even the Mercedes team boss, Toto Wolff. But the 18-year-old is defiant. The Dutchman gave no indication he would change his tactics for today’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza after being the centre of attention last Sunday in Spa-Francorchamps.
“I think it was all pretty clear,” Verstappen said. “I don’t like to stay in the past and what happened there. I try to push again and just do my thing, and show my driving style like it was before.”
The Red Bull driver went on to compare himself to Ibrahimovic, the Manchester United striker.
“You have to see it like this,” he said. “Let’s say you put Ibrahimovic up as a defender. Would he like it just because other people think he is a better defender? I don’t think he will listen to those guys. If he likes to attack, he wants to attack.
“It is not because other drivers tell me I have to change my driving style that I will change my driving style.”
Formula One’s governing body has said Verstappen was handed a “gentle warning” about his driving, team principal Christian Horner said.
“[FIA race director] Charlie [Whiting] was keen to show him a replay of Spa,” Horner told Sky Sports TV at the Italian Grand Prix.
“It was a gentle warning to say ‘that’ll be a black and white flag’ . . . a bit of a warning.”
A black and white flag can be waved, once only, at a driver during a race to warn him that he has been reported for unsporting behaviour.
If the driver does it again, a black flag will be shown which tells him he has been excluded and must return immediately to the pits.
Verstappen tangled with Ferrari drivers Raikkonen and Vettel at the start in Spa and then aggressively defended against Raikkonen when the Finn tried to pass later on.
The Formula One paddock has been divided by Verstappen’s actions, which were not punished by race stewards, with some feeling the Dutch youngster had done no wrong while others condemned him.
“In the middle of the straight you ‘HE COULD KILL SOMEONE’: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has been vilified by Formula One drivers for his aggressive tactics are allowed to do one move as long as the other car is not alongside you,” commented McLaren’s double world champion Fernando Alonso, who felt Verstappen had not broken a rule.
Horner said Verstappen, the youngest race winner in the sport’s history and already attracting a following as a rising star, cared little about what the others thought.
“Like any 18-year-old, [the criticism] seems to be going in one ear and out the other,” he said.
“He really doesn’t care, he’s focused on his job, he’s not intimidated by the surroundings he’s in and I think that’s what marks him out as a real talent and star of the future.”
But Verstappen is not and should not be cowed. He is exactly what Formula One needs, and that is why the banks at Spa swelled to their former glory last weekend.
One of the reasons why he was given the opportunity to move up from Toro Rosso to Red Bull so soon was his eye-catching overtaking. He goes for moves others simply would not try. That lands him in hot water occasionally but his success rate so far has been remarkably high.
To reign in his aggressive driving would be to signal defeat. The elder statesmen of the sport want him to follow their rules, but as long as he is not being penalised by the stewards, why should he?
Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, two of the greatest drivers ever, were renowned for defending forcefully. Schumacher was particularly unyielding.
Verstappen is simply following their lead. And if he continues to do so, history suggests his career will not end up too badly at all. Monza saga nears its conclusion
Barely a week has gone by in the past year without a Monza story.
Bernie Ecclestone has been talking the race down for months. Then Imola became a possible alternative.
It has all just been part of Ecclestone’s trademark tactic of negotiating by putting the organisers into a corner with his public pronouncements.
The first signal that the Italian Grand Prix was more than likely to be safe came when Heineken, Formula One’s new global sponsor, announced they would be the title sponsor of Monza.
And finally it seems Ecclestone has changed his tune.
“I’d be surprised if we didn’t reach an agreement,” the 85-year-old told Autosport this week.
Italy needs Formula One and Formula One needs Italy. The fight over money seems to be nearly over. Now or never for Rosberg
Germany’s Nico Rosberg took his opportunity in Spa, but thanks to Lewis Hamilton the gap narrowed to only nine points. Now he will have to overhaul his teammate on merit.
There are eight races left to redefine how he is thought of as a driver.
At the moment, the impression is of someone supremely professional, fast and committed, but lacking that something special.
Every now and then he has shown it, but only in flashes.
Rosberg will struggle to get an opportunity as good as this again. —©