A record crowd flocked to Spa-Francorchamps hoping to see Max Verstappen claim his second career victory on the weekend.
Their hopes were dashed when he couldn’t even scrape into the points, but his antics on the track have tongues wagging, most notably his rivals in the Ferrari garage.
Sebastian Vettel was unhappy about the incident at the opening corner, while Kimi Raikkonen was more concerned with a twitchy, last-minute defensive move on the Kemmel Straight.
“Come on, this is f**king ridiculous now,” complained Raikkonen over the radio, “he’s just f**king turning when I’m at full speed.”
Even Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff weighed in, saying Verstappen’s aggression was “refreshing, but it is dangerous.”
Never one to take a backward step, Verstappen returned fire, saying that the Ferrari drivers should “ashamed of themselves” for causing the first-corner incident, insisting that drivers of their experience should have been able to race cleanly.
Of all Verstappen’s questionable manoeuvres, his overtake of Raikkonen heading into Les Combes was perhaps the most contentious.
Replays show the Finn entered the braking zone a full car length ahead of Verstappen, who then braked as late as possible to pull slightly ahead at the apex of the right hander. Ahead at this point and entitled to claim the racing line, Verstappen left his opponent no room on the outside and nudged him off the track.
Braking so late meant that Verstappen needed all the lock his steering wheel could muster to make the exit, and after some minor contact with the Ferrari he had to rebalance the car, and ended up drifting across the following apex and briefly leaving the track.
Each incident, in isolation, is defendable, and doesn’t warrant penalties to the letter of the regulations. On the whole though, they form a picture of a driver pushing his opponents and the regulations to the limit.
Certainly F1 fans have been waiting for the arrival of someone like Verstappen, who has brought exciting overtakes and aggressive defensive moves back to the sport. (Click to Tweet)
But unlike Max, well-rounded and so-called ‘complete’ drivers demonstrate controlled aggression. They choose their battles wisely and avoid unnecessary scraps on the track. After all, there aren’t many hiding places in an F1 paddock.
It is conspicuous that Verstappen hasn’t fallen afoul of the stewards lately, especially considering that he was recently the driver with the most penalty points against his super licence.
Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve has accused the FIA of trying to “protect” Verstappen to cultivate his appeal with fans and sponsors alike.
“Look in Germany,” insisted Villeneuve, “he weaved on the straight, so Nico missed his braking [point]. They go a bit wide – Nico gets a penalty.”
Although I certainly wouldn’t agree that there’s a conspiracy behind his treatment from the stewards, I find myself questioning their leniency more often than I care to admit.
Besides, Verstappen’s attacking approach is most like triggering flashbacks for Villeneuve, who swapped paint with another winner-takes-all driver, in the form of Michael Schumacher.
Verstappen is still a developing driver with the potential to find even more speed and race-craft, but somewhere along the line he’ll be forced to choose: does he want to be a hero or the villain?
The debate over whether Max should target modest but respectable achievements like Villeneuve, or go for broke and turn friends into foe will continue up and down the paddock.
Personally, I’m holding out for a hero.
anon
Guest
These guys (Vettel, Raikkonen, Button, Alonso, Hamilton) operate like a cartel. They successfully had Perez banished from McLaren, they had Grosjean walking on eggshells, they had Kyvat's career effectively terminated after a racing incident in Russia, they have Rosberg almost apologising when he has the temerity to win a race or claim pole. They have controlled seats at top teams for the past decade despite drivers as deserving or more deserving of a good seat. In short the cartel is the reason why the sport is stale and Verstappen is a direct threat to their obscene salaries. A 17 year old has come along and is basically as good or better. Frankly, it's looking ridiculous having Vettel at Ferrari on a giant contract when Ricciardo blew Vettel away and now Verstappen has better race pace than Ricciardo. As for Kimi and Button they have no business being in F1. Where was the criticism of Kimi when he was punting Bottas off the road last year?
Kris
Roar Rookie
Oh, I agree completely. I just find it somewhat churlish when we have people decrying the lack of overtaking in F1 then complaining because a driver overtakes too aggressively. There are clear instances where drivers are wrong (braking through Eau Rouge is plainly ridiculous) but for the most part we would rather see aggressive driving leading to overtaking rather than safe and steady driving resulting in boring processions.
Rodney Gordon
Expert
We are bending over backwards to make F1 safer, I fail to believe that the FIA wouldn't take a driver aside and set them straight if they felt there was a conflict between safety and entertainment.
Rodney Gordon
Expert
The situation is pretty clear, if everybody thinks he is crossing the line and the regulations are sufficient they will be changed... or at least the guidelines for the administration of the rules.
Rodney Gordon
Expert
You don't think Verstappen is a whinger? You don't think he whinged when he was asked to let his teammate through, even though Sainz had done the same for him multiple times? You don't think he whinged when he was pushed off the track by Rosberg in Germany, and then did the same to Raikkonen in Belgium? You don't think he whinged when he said Vettel and Raikkonen should be "ashamed of themselves" for their driving, despite coming under intense criticism from drivers, team bosses and experts himself? The Roar is a place for passionate discussion, the comments especially! I can call Verstappen a whinger just as you can call me unprofessional (which is uncalled for imho).
Kris
Roar Rookie
It's a difficult proposition for the stewards and the FIA. Fans everywhere have been demanding the return of more exciting racing (read: more overtaking) and yet when we get a driver is more aggressive and entertaining then many of those fans want him penalised. The safety of the drivers is of paramount importance so blocking through Eau Rouge must not be allowed to happen, but surely we want the stewards to err on the side of entertainment where possible.
Simon F
Guest
I liked the article, especially the comment " Besides, Verstappen’s attacking approach is most like triggering flashbacks for Villeneuve, who swapped paint with another winner-takes-all driver, in the form of Michael Schumacher." That is spot on. But then I scroll down the comments and read the "expert's" unprofessional comment: Verstappen is a whinger too, though… and i think he’s losing the “competitive but fair” label in favour of “competitive but not technically against the regs” Rodney Gordon, please if you want to be taken serious as a writer, stay a bit more professional with your comments too. If a driver does race within the rules I do not understand what all the fuss is about. Is there really nothing else to write about? Verstappen hasnt been penalized or looked at so far. Raikkonen should retire, yes I truly mean this. He waits too long, cannot decide where to pass Verstappen and loses it over the radio. After previous situations, he really should know what to do, but he clearly doesnt. Vettel on the other hand makes his decision fast so Verstappen cannot make that move anymore. Ferrari is in need of a different driver next to Vettel. The problem aswell is DRS. Since this has been introduced it killed the F1. Overtaking on the straight, not a problem, we just push the button. Drivers do not defend against DRS and its boring, you already know what will happen. Now finally there is a driver, whether you like him or not, who actually puts up a fight and now thats not good enough either. This is what I certainly want to see, I missed this for years. If you look at what Verstappen was penalized for last year, compared to similar incidents by other drivers we can conclude there is no conspiracy right now that allows Verstappen to get away with more things than other drivers. Verstappen is racing within the rules, I love it. @Armchair expert: I agree with you that he needs to learn when to attack. But what happened in turn one was a racing incident between three cars. Dan has been involved in those things aswell just like all other drivers. If you look back at all the previous races since Verstappen is in F1, you can conclude that Verstappen mostly stays out of trouble at the start. I think only in Russia 2015 he got damage and that was because two drivers crashed ahead of him and he could not avoid them. I think Verstappen can learn things from Dan, but I also think Dan can learn also things from Verstappen. Verstappen is not a perfect driver, but Dan isnt either.
SM
Guest
You're quite right. But I think the ship has sailed on the authorities upholding driving standards. This is not the fault of the young drivers coming through.
Rodney Gordon
Expert
That's fair, because as everybody knows the FIA is the gold standard of consistency and forthrightness!
SM
Guest
The FIA didn't clamp down on a young Senna's driving which was perceived as dangerous in the mid eighties, nor Schumacher a few years. Doing so with Verstappen would be inconsistent and somewhat hypocritical.
Rodney Gordon
Expert
Verstappen is a whinger too, though... and i think he's losing the "competitive but fair" label in favour of "competitive but not technically against the regs"
Rodney Gordon
Expert
I believe Vettel is one, Button too maybe? I'm sure his response will be "if it was against the rules then penalise me"
LachyP
Guest
Dan Ricciardo is the guy who he should be looking up to. He doesn't quite have the runs on the board due to inferior machinery but he races in the spirit, takes passing opportunities when they arrive and plays a competitive but fair game. Vettel is a massive whiner do every comment needs to be taken with a grain of salt but when the rest of the field start making comments such as Kimi he should take notice.
armchair expert
Guest
He has to learn when to attack and when to play what is in front of him. Ricciardo stayed out of the battle at the first corner and came home 2nd, he has learnt through experience, Max may do the same or he may spend his career despised by his peers.
Damo
Guest
Agree - I see no problems with his aggression when wheel to wheel and it's definitely giving some of the 'experienced' drivers a wake up who have had it pretty easy in the last few years. If he sorts his defending out then it'll be great. I'm not sure who the driver's representative in the Steward's Room is (is it rolling position per race?) but they probably want to have a good sit down chat with him.
Rodney Gordon
Expert
On reflection, I really meant to hit the Verstappen = Schumacher point harder in this article :)
Rodney Gordon
Expert
I don't know about being scared, when someone is quicker and races fairly you don't frequently hear Raikkonen or any other driver whinging about their antics. The drivers certainly aren't the only ones asking questions, but certainly in the heat of the moment their opinions seem to be amplified
Rodney Gordon
Expert
Yeah, we're all talking about Verstappen as a developing driver as scary as his opponents may find that, so I think it's important that he continue to improve his aggression and in curbing his unfavourable defending
Damo
Guest
He currently sits somewhere in the middle and though I thoroughly enjoy his more aggressive racing style he really needs to cut out those late blocking moves. That will cause a serious crash sooner rather than later.
Paul Hunter
Guest
The Ferrari drivers are just scared they are about to be taken over by a snot nose kid. If Kimi is so scared, he should take up knitting instead and retire to an old folks home. He's like those soccer players who beg the referee to give their opponent a yellow card because they aren't good enough to beat them. Vetter himself is no stranger to pushing limits either.