The feud between Damon Hill, Max Verstappen, and Red Bull continues as the new F1 season approaches. The 1996 world champion has been one of the strongest critics of the Dutchman’s driving, which, in the recent past, has often “crossed the line.” This season, he will no longer be part of the Sky Sports F1 team, after being accused just a few months ago of having prejudices against anyone who isn’t British.
Max Verstappen’s driving style has been under intense media scrutiny for years. A driving style that is (perhaps excessively) aggressive, sometimes disregarding his opponents, and often teetering on the edge of the rules. Last season, there were no shortages of controversial moments in Austria, Austin, and Mexico. Similarly, there were fierce criticisms directed at the Dutchman.
The Sky Sports UK team didn’t hold back from expressing their views. In particular, Damon Hill and Johnny Herbert took a stand against the Dutchman, suggesting that driving “correctly” may not be in Verstappen’s nature. Comments that didn’t go unnoticed by Red Bull, who quickly defended their driver along with Jos Verstappen, who spoke of “biased people” in the paddock.
Hill: “Red Bull has a responsibility to Max Verstappen”
In a long interview with Tom Cary of the Telegraph, Damon Hill returned to the matter: “Red Bull defends its point of view strongly. They don’t like the criticism of Max. And they particularly didn’t like some of the things that were said. Overall, they’ve always claimed that Sky favors British drivers, which is really unfair, I think. In fact, I think there’s the opposite desire.”
“I don’t think Sky wants to be accused of being biased. I think they want to be a fair broadcaster for this sport. Also, they don’t want to be denied access to a very important figure in this sport. And I think Red Bull knows that and applies pressure, if necessary. But I’m not anti-Max. That’s the point. I think Max is brilliant. I like him, he’s sensational.” – the former Formula 1 driver added.
“But when I thought he had crossed the line, I said it. And I think Red Bull has a responsibility to the sport, you know? If their driver crosses the line sometimes, they have a responsibility to say: ‘You can’t do that.’ And they don’t do that. That’s always been my issue with them. They’ve almost given Max a free pass and protected their driver from not respecting the rules, if I can say that.”
Max Verstappen “would cry like a baby,” if roles were reversed
Hill then reflected on events from last season: “Last year, Max correctly interpreted the rule on overtaking to his advantage, being ahead of the apex, on the inside. There’s nothing in the regulations that says you can’t do that. And it’s exciting to see people dive inside. It’s just that no other driver does it. And if someone did it to him, he’d cry like a baby.”
“And that’s one of my problems with them. Red Bull can’t accept it. No, it’s really a bit disappointing, to say the least, that they like to be considered the strongest team, but when something doesn’t go as they’d like, they start crying.” – he pointed out.
“As I said, I like Max. What I don’t like is the chauvinism. And I don’t like the fact that it’s become ‘you’re against us because we’re not British’ and all that nonsense, which has been used as a way to pressure us. It’s absolutely unfair to insinuate that there’s some sort of anti-Dutch sentiment. What can you do? I thought I was there to express my opinion.”
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