Albon on max verstappen

In case it had not been noticed, the rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen is personal. But if a reminder is needed, check out Verstappen’s interviews over the past couple of months. Max, do you consciously avoid referring to your title rival by his name? Do you try and not mention the word ‘Lewis’ or, indeed, ­‘Mercedes’? “That is correct,” answers ­Verstappen, who actually DID bring himself to mention his rival’s name after taking pole position for today’s showdown. “Too much has happened this season. “My look on certain people has changed. And not in a positive way. I have found out that certain people show a whole different face when they come under pressure. JOIN THE DEBATE! Who will lift the Drivers' Championship later today? Let us know in the comments There is no love lost between title rivals Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton ( Image: Formula 1 via Getty Images) “Their true character comes to the surface.” The pair are … [Read more...] about Max Verstappen’s clear Lewis Hamilton refusal exposes true feelings on rivalry

Max Verstappen was all smiles after being handed the piece of bodywork that wrecked his chances of victory at the British Grand Prix. Verstappen was the man to beat at Silverstone all weekend, despite being pipped to pole position by Carlos Sainz during Saturday’s wet qualifying session. Such was the Dutchman’s pace, his time for one of his Q3 laps would have been good enough for third on the grid, even though it featured a spin coming out Stowe. After the race was restarted following Zhou Guanyu’s terrifying shunt, Verstappen trailed Sainz in the early stages and then took the lead when the Spaniard made a mistake going through Becketts and ran wide. READ MORE: Max Verstappen rages at Red Bull team in X-rated rant during British Grand Prix The 2021 world champion looked set to pull away and secure a comfortable victory at that point. That was until he ran over a sizeable piece of bodywork that had fallen off an AlphaTauri - Red Bull’s sister team. While it wasn’t … [Read more...] about Max Verstappen pictured smiling with AlphaTauri bodywork that ruined his British GP

Sergio Perez has no chance of a fair title fight against Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen , says former Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean . Verstappen is the runaway leader in the title race, 46 points clear of his nearest rival after just nine races as the winner of five of the last six. That second-placed contender is Perez, who emerged in the hunt to become champion after his Monaco Grand Prix success . He is three points ahead of Charles Leclerc , who is still considered to be in the race for the title despite the reliability concerns that have affected his Ferrari in recent weeks. But Grosjean believes that the Mexican has no hope of challenging Verstappen due to team politics. "No, Max is the number one and Sergio is number two," said the Frenchman when asked if he felt Perez would be given a fair chance. "That is the way Red Bull has always worked and all the radio communications you get in the race, even in Baku, the message to Perez was 'no fighting' . … [Read more...] about Max Verstappen ‘very clearly’ prioritised by Red Bull as Sergio Perez title hopes quashed

Ferrari have been urged to explore the possibility of snatching Max Verstappen from their Red Bull rivals by a close friend of the Dutchman. Verstappen leads the drivers' championship by 46 points after just nine races of what is shaping up to be a stellar season for the Red Bull ace. He has overcome the fast start made by Charles Leclerc to put himself firmly in the best position for a successful title defence. He has been helped to do so by reliability problems which have plagued Ferrari in recent weeks. Both Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have suffered mechanical issues which have hampered their chances of success and left Red Bull to run riot at times. Despite those issues, Tom Coronel believes Ferrari would be the better team for his friend Verstappen to represent. The World Touring Cars veteran told the RacingNews365 podcast that he believes the 24-year-old would "one hundred per cent" be even more successful if he raced for the Italian outfit. "I've always said … [Read more...] about Max Verstappen would ‘100%’ have more success as Ferrari urged to sign Red Bull star

Max Verstappen has "built on his experience from last year" and matured into a better racer, according to his team boss. Christian Horner has heaped praise upon the Dutchman, who attracted criticism from some fans and pundits for his aggressive racing style while challenging Lewis Hamilton for the 2021 title. The Red Bull chief feels his success in that battle has helped him to race more calmly. "[Verstappen] did a hell of a job last year," Horner explained on the F1 Nation podcast. "Think back to some of the races that he drove under immense pressure. Austin stands out to me as one of the races towards the end of the campaign. "But again, the racing this year has been excellent, and the cars can follow a bit closer. We've seen that across these eight races or nine races so far. So yeah, he's definitely built on his experience from last year, and you can see that having won that world championship, he's just driving with even more maturity." His words echo those of Sky … [Read more...] about How Max Verstappen has changed since ‘dethroning’ Lewis Hamilton in F1 title battle

Max Verstappen doesn’t need Silverstone’s affection - but says that the British crowd will take him to their hearts if he puts on ‘a damn good show.’ The reigning champion has always been left in the shade by Lewis Hamilton as punters have favoured their home favourite. With George Russell now competing for attention and Lando Norris growing his band of supporters, space is tight in the hearts for those attending the Northamptonshire circuit. But Damon Hill believes that if the Dutchman keeps serving up fast and furious action that he will soon boast his own army of support. Hill said: “Max is a thoroughbred racing driver. He doesn’t seem to be interested in anything other than getting into the car - winning races - and then going home to live his life. “He’s not sentimental about anything. He’s very smart. He’s impressed me with his maturity - even from the early days when he was 17 years old. At that age, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. He’s always … [Read more...] about Max Verstappen “doesn’t need love” from F1 fans as Lewis Hamilton comparison made

Jacques Villeneuve has questioned the ability of Charles Leclerc to become world champion competing against Max Verstappen . The Ferrari racer has been the main rivals to the Dutchman's title defence so far this year, though it hasn't gone to plan in recent times. After winning two of the first three races, Leclerc has suffered reliability issues that have allowed Red Bull to run riot. The team has won the last six races, with Verstappen taking victory in five of those. As a result, he has opened up a 49-point gap over Leclerc in the championship while the gulf between Red Bull and Ferrari in the constructors' standings is even larger. His victory last time out at the Canadian Grand Prix was described as "typical Max Verstappen" by Villeneuve. "He is always at 100%. Nothing boring ever happens. His performance status is always optimal and he doesn't have a single weekend where he has less pace. He doesn't make any mistakes either. That's why he is a difficult driver … [Read more...] about Charles Leclerc title credentials questioned by F1 champion who backs Max Verstappen

Christian Horner said Max Verstappen was denied pole position for the British Grand Prix by a spin from his title rival Charles Leclerc . Verstappen was the favourite to go quickest in qualifying after looking a cut above the rest in FP3 and the first parts of the session. But in the end Carlos Sainz was the one to secure pole, going fastest on a Saturday for the first time in his Formula 1 career. It means advantage Ferrari for the race, as Verstappen had to settle for second while Leclerc is third ahead of the other Red Bull driver Sergio Perez . Sainz is a popular pole starter, having never achieved such a result before, but Horner believes Verstappen would have been the one starting from the front had it not been for some bad luck. As he was starting his final flying lap, the Dutchman was forced to ease off the throttle slightly as yellow flags were waved in sector one as Leclerc had a small spin while gunning for pole himself. Reacting to that, Horner told … [Read more...] about Christian Horner bemoans Charles Leclerc spin as Max Verstappen beaten to British GP pole

Max Verstappen raged over the radio to his Red Bull engineers after what he felt was a pointless pit stop during the British Grand Prix . The Dutchman started the race second, and by lap 10 he took advantage of a mistake from Carlos Sainz to take the lead of the race. It didn't last long, though, as he picked up a problem when he ran over some debris on the track. At first he thought it was a puncture, and duly came into the pit lane for a change of rubber in the hope that would make the difference. But it didn't as he continued to lose time compared to those around him. An investigation from the team revealed an issue with the bodywork on his Red Bull , but they were happy to not retire the car as they felt the problem was "not critical". It meant that he was well out of the running for the win, though, and instead fighting for as many points as he could further back in the order. A few laps later, he was once again told to come into the pits, which gave the … [Read more...] about Max Verstappen fires furious X-rated radio message to Red Bull amid British GP woes

Christian Horner claimed Max Verstappen was denied a "slam dunk" win at the British Grand Prix by the piece of stray debris which ruined his race. Verstappen started in second place, and on Lap 10 overtook pole-sitter Carlos Sainz to lead the race. But the Red Bull delight did not last for long, as it soon became apparent that the Dutchman was struggling with a problem. The defending champion ran over some debris, and clearly lost performance as he was overtaken by both Ferraris before he dove into the pits for fresh tyres. He had assumed it was a puncture, but further analysis revealed it was a bodywork issue affecting downforce, as Verstappen declared the car was "100% broken". He later launched into an expletive-laden rant over team radio following another pit stop, as he struggled to warm up his new tyres and was passed by Sebastian Vettel with ease. "I don't know why the f**k you put me on these tyres, given the damage," he yelled, before adding that he was … [Read more...] about Christian Horner gutted after Max Verstappen damage denied ‘slam dunk’ British GP win