There’s a reason why Max Verstappen is one of the most feared drivers on the Formula 1 grid. Not only is the Dutchman fast, but he’s also unforgiving. Arguably, he’s taken a leaf out of Ayrton Senna’s playbook. Senna was known to put you in a position where either you’d back out and let him through or you crashed, as per Martin Brundle. This is the exact kind of psychological warfare Verstappen is also known to employ. He also defended this after the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix. And Lewis Hamilton should’ve paid heed to Verstappen’s words.

Mad Max explains himself after the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix antics

At the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen muscled past Charles Leclerc at turn 3, in the dying embers of the race. Later, when he was asked about his all-or-nothing racing style, Verstappen was in no mood to introspect. He told BBC’s Andrew Benson, “Let’s say it like this: after my career if I would have won five championships but I’m maybe not the most liked person, for me that doesn’t matter, because at the end of the day it’s all about winning.”

“And that maybe sounds arrogant, but I don’t want to sound like that. I would do anything – or everything – to win. If it’s a little bit – not dirty, but in a hard way – I will do it. I am not here to be the most liked person.” Well, Hamilton got a taste of this in 2021. If only he’d have listened!

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Verstappen has often been nicknamed as ‘Mad Max’. That being said, according to an ex-Formula 1 driver, it’s for the better that the Dutch lion actually drives in the modern age of Formula 1 rather than the turbo-80s.

Max Verstappen was handed a fatal warning over his driving style

Arguably, the major reason why Verstappen is a 2x Champion of the sport is down to his aggressive driving style. That being said, Bruno Giacomelli, podium sitter with Alfa Romeo, thinks that if Verstappen drove in his era, he’d have been dead.

He said to it.motorsport.com, “Do you know what it means to die? It means that Verstappen if he had driven the 80s cars that I drove, would have died at least three or four times. “Nowadays drivers are no longer afraid in a Formula 1 car, because they are very safe.”

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Does Max Verstappen have a tendency to cross the white line, so to speak? Or is his aggression well within the acceptable bounds of Formula 1 racing?