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He is a world champion. He is, in fact, a multiple world champion. As a matter of fact, he is a four-time world champion, and lest it is forgotten, an incredibly skilled driver who has so often reduced the rest of the pack, involving his closest competitors on track, into a bunch of talents that just seem ordinary.
That is how dominant Max Verstappen is, the only driver ever to register ten consecutive Formula 1 Grands Prix wins. In the year 2023, Max Verstappen drove a season that left the record books gasping for breath. He drove to ten back to back race wins only for Carlos Sainz Jr, then with Ferrari, to somehow come forward and stop the barrage of magnificence that Verstappen was contending with.
As an accomplished driver, Max Verstappen is almost always motivated and he's always raring to improve his performances out there. But what's also concerning is that this mega multiple world champion has, time and again, flirted with the issue of legality in respect of some of his racing moves and earned the wrath of his critics as also the FIA. Some of his moves may have been daring but are, at the end of the day, quite dangerous as seen on track. Ditto for his aggressive and no-holds-barred attitude when levelling accusations at his rivals on the track.
Verstappen, truth be told, is a once in a lifetime talent. But he's also capricious and someone not with the smoothest of race crafts out there. Those who admire him know that not all of his moves on the F1 battleground are worthy of respect. He's achieved bedazzling victories but also earned the scorn of his critics who feel, and rightly so, that on occasions, he should hold himself back from being too pushy on the racing track, as is common feeling.
Which are some of his most controversial moments on the F1 tracks? And how did they happen:
Verstappen vs George Russell - the exchange of words at Abu Dhabi GP 2024
Back in the 2022 season, the two drivers had come together in the slightest of touches during that year’s Azerbaijan sprint event.
Of course, neither driver was happy about that incident, which wasn’t predetermined whether by Verstappen of Red Bull or Russell, then still a newcomer at Mercedes.
But then it was Max who came forward and went to approach the young British driver at the parc ferme upon the completion of the contest accusing the Mercedes driver of lacking “team spirit”. This would be the start of a tension between the two drivers, with Russell never really doing untoward but Verstappen coming forward and expressing his “humble cents” that weren’t always proper or polite.
Then, two years later, at Abu Dhabi, the grouse between the two drivers reached a further low as just one race ago in 2024, the two would again come to blows where it comes to verbal exchange, Verstappen once again being the aggressor.
Although the grievance between the two during qualifying a few days ago was just minor and nothing serious, crash threats and bullying claims were tossed around publicly that once again highlighted the angry nature of Verstappen.
Verstappen vs Ocon in Brazil in 2018
Upon the conclusion of the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix, a venue where the Dutchman had demonstrated great race craft and high skill under torrential rains as seen a few years go, the sport got to see yet again Max Verstappen displaying temper.
Only this time around, he actually went down to French driver Esteban Ocon, then with Force India, to make sure the Frenchman noted he wasn’t happy.
During the race’s decisive moments, the two drivers came together and had a contact which clearly wasn’t preplanned or intentional by either drivers. But what happened thereafter, post Hamilton win in the contest, was sheer horror.
Verstappen not only pushed Ocon thrice but even threatened to hit him, because he was so frustrated by the event.
Max was then just 21. Here’s how Ocon described the incident: “He wanted to punch me. He pushed me and he was wanting to be violent. It was not professional.”
Max vs Lando in Austria 2024
The Styrian Alps are usually the most picturesque and breathtaking of all racing venues in the top flight of Formula 1 but not always have they seen drivers doing something polite or smooth so as to ensure the end show is about as calm as the serene surroundings of the Red Bull ring, the home event of Red Bull.
Last year in 2024, Verstappen and Norris were involved in a rather desperate attempt for track supremacy with the top honours likely to fall to either of the two impressive racing talents.
With just 7 laps to go off the 71 in the race and an intense battle forming between Max and Lando, something incredible and unfortunate transpired during the closing stages. Verstappen had been on pole and been driving a great race when he found real contest from McLaren’s main man: Lando Norris. The Briton had begun the contest from second on the grid. That said with just a little over 7 laps to go, Norris made an attempt on the outside line of turn 3, pursuing the move on none other than Max himself.
But Verstappen moved immediately to block the move, which resulted in both drivers sustaining hits on their cars. While Verstappen dropped down and the win went to George Russell, Norris suffered a bad tyre puncture and fell to the rear end of the grid. The incident fuelled great tension between the two battling talents and Norris, expectedly, had some things to say about Verstappen alluding that the Red Bull driver was overly aggressive. Who was at fault there wasn’t hard to gauge as the stewards gave a 10-second time penalty to Verstappen.
The big crash with Lewis at Monza in 2021
The 2021 season for the longest time possible will be remembered for Verstappen winning the contest at Abu Dhabi, and with it, a world title that perhaps belonged to Sir Lewis Hamilton. The huge error or should one say, the mighty erroneous move on the part of Michael Masi in the decisive stages of the Abu Dhabi allowed Verstappen on fresher tires the clear advantage in his pursuit of Hamilton, then on older rubber. It was an incident that could have been avoided and deserved nothing but a fair conclusion and not the shambolic controversy it eventually ended with.
However, the conclusion of the 2021 championship was in some ways the after effect of a bitterness between the two drivers and huge differences in their approach to racing that mostly saw Verstappen as the aggressor, the Red Bull man executing - if not always- dubious moves.
One such move happened at Italy’s Monza where in a bid to catch Lewis Hamilton, who had only just exited the pits, another strange or should one say, precarious move by Verstappen, then fast catching up the Mercedes, on the straights led to a horrible finality.
As the battling duo approached a slow right-left chicane, Hamilton edged his Mercedes onto the left for the right hander with Verstappen nearly there behind as the battling duo were inching closer.
The Red Bull, in its pursuit to gain track position, had been pushed to the outside. But at this point, Verstappen was almost there alongside Lewis at the first corner.
Immediately then, within a mili second, Verstappen, who felt “squeezed” by Lewis Hamilton, had the choice of bailing out of the move in order to get ahead but committed himself despite the oddity of the situation, which in this case was the position of his car. But instead, Max pushed for the move, which wasn’t there. Resultantly, his Red Bull actually landed on top of Hamilton’s Mercedes thus yielding a nightmare scenario that could have actually injured not just him but his rival, if not leading to anything fatal.
But what was attained out of it? Nothing as both drivers crashed out of the Italian Grand Prix that nightmarish weekend.
Dangerous and reckless against Raikkonen at Hungary in 2016
During lap 57 of the 70 at the famed Hungaroring, Verstappen made a big show of race craft that could and should have been better but sadly wasn’t. In his pursuit of the Red Ferrari of Raikkonen, then right in front of his Red Bull, Verstappen had been trying his level to march ahead. But with just thirteen laps to go in the contest, he moved under braking, something considered a cardinal sin with the Ferrari of Kimi just right behind as the battling duo approached a tight left hander.
First moving onto the left to block Kimi, Max moved immediately to the opposite end, almost immediately. But what was concerning there was that he moved under braking and somehow made the turn while the Finn made a visit to the gravel trap complaining over team radio about Verstappen’s hapless move on the track.
Such incidents have been repeated by Verstappen on multiple occasions and have in the past happened even with Vettel.
