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On the eve of what might be the hardest fought championship of his career opening in Melbourne this weekend one thing is clear, Max Verstappen will not go gently into that night. The defending Formula One world champion, never one to shy away from speaking his mind, a compelling character trait reflected in his driving, is eyeballing the opposition and demanding they bring it on.
The 27-year-old took his fourth consecutive F1 title last season, the toughest since his first, the titanic battle with Lewis Hamilton that ended controversially in Abu Dhabi, in 2021. In both, when the Dutchman was pushed to the limit, to scrap tooth and nail, he was uncompromising, an elbows-out battler, obdurate, driven by belief in himself and the righteousness of the Verstappen cause.
Out of the car his generally easy-going persona belies this steel but it is there in the eyes and the conviction of his voice. As he leans back to consider his attitude to racing, to quote Rotten, J, he means it, man. “I do whatever is needed,” he says, with finality. “I try to always go for it when I think it’s right to do so.
“It’s just how I am. I will always go for it when I think it’s possible, whatever other people call it. You might agree with it or not but I just battle the way I think I need to battle.”
His acknowledgment that some diverge from his opinion is a concession to the debate sparked whenever Verstappen is feisty on the track. Depending on the viewpoint, he is a rare, exceptional, misunderstood genius and there are no shortage of fans who subscribe to this. Or ranging from reckless and even dangerous, as many concluded when he clashed with Hamilton at Monza taking them both out in 2021, to unsporting and contemptuous of rules, as his protagonist last season, McLaren’s Lando Norris, certainly believed when he was the victim of aggressive attacking and defending in Mexico last year.
But, well, whatever. Because Verstappen does not care. The criticism that such driving tarnishes his reputation, is the gnawing of gnats on an elephant hide. “I don’t tell you or someone else how they should live their lives or what they should do in life,” he says. “Everyone should just focus on themselves. I think my behaviour is good. If someone else disagrees, that’s their problem. It’s not my problem, is it?”
As F1 prepares for a 24-race season the issue is more pertinent than ever. He will probably face an almighty scrap, not least from Norris and his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, with Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari and Mercedes all looking to join the party while Red Bull, on the early form in Melbourne, have still to solve the problems that wrecked their car for the second half of last year.
Yet Verstappen has beaten them all over the past four seasons and for two of those, 2022 and 2023, was imperious. His driving style was barely discussed because he was so quick, so consistent and so relentless.
Success has come at a price, though. At the F175 launch event last month in London, to celebrate the sport’s 75th anniversary and open the new season, Verstappen was roundly booed. He has declined to enter into a debate on why the crowd reacted as it did. However, he was forthright on considering why some do not appreciate his achievements. “They’re just jealous,. Jealous of success,” he says.
“My dream was to get to F1 and be successful. I’ve achieved that and people that can’t appreciate that, they’re jealous. So that’s fine for them. But it’s not correct, because jealousy doesn’t bring you anywhere in life. I don’t do it for the people, I’m not there to please people that don’t appreciate me.”
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This is Verstappen writ large and it must be considered a fundamental factor in why he is a four-time champion. You cannot look through F1’s history without finding greats who shared such iron-willed conviction, not least Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher.
“You create your own success,” Verstappen says. “And I’ve created my own success with very important people around me. Of course, part of that success is with the team. All these people that I’m working with and that are close to me, they value that success. That’s what it’s about. And I am very happy with what I have achieved in this sport. That is the most important thing.”
His honesty is striking and endearing. Verstappen, like Hamilton, is unafraid of putting himself out there just as he is, for all that such an unapologetic attitude could vex those who have taken against him.
Last year, when the team’s performance fell away mid-season, he was unequivocal in his disapproval, describing his ride as an “undriveable monster” and demanding Red Bull remedy it forthwith. Very much part of a frank relationship he enjoys with the team. No one inside Red Bull has anything but positive words to say about Verstappen and a belief he is driven only by a desire for them all to succeed. During the travails of last season what was perceived as a clash between driver and team was part of this process.
“My relationship with them didn’t change because we are always very honest with each other,” he says. “If I make a mistake it’s also said. We have a very open relationship, we’re very straightforward. So when it’s good it’s good, when it’s bad it’s bad. That’s how we approach it. That works the best if you want to perform at the highest level.”
It is hard not to wonder if that level of honesty can be uncomfortable or even painful? “Not for me,” is Verstappen’s unsurprisingly blunt response. “It’s how I grew up. When things need to be said, they are said. Some people take that a bit more easy, it’s a personality thing but overall it is well received. We are all part of the process.”
When Verstappen made his debut in F1 at 17 years old, he was its youngest ever driver. There followed a steep learning curve, not all of it pretty and not all of it edifying, but pretty much impossible to ignore. A period that forged him such that he insists he would change nothing of those formative years. “It’s important that you make certain mistakes in life and some bits that hurt,” he says.
“In terms of missing out on a result or making a mistake, it’s important to have that hunger to try to improve. If you know everything in advance, how to do it correctly, it’s very boring. You make some mistakes, it’s not nice at the time, but sometimes you need a hard lesson to become better.”
Compelling as a man and driver, however you regard him, he enlivens the sport and his rivals go into 2025 knowing too well, given all those hard lessons learned, Verstappen will only go down fighting. Who would have it any other way?
