Max Verstappen’s racing behaviour and style have changed due to declining performance and internal management issues at Red Bull.
That’s the assessment of several F1 consultants, including 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who noted that the three-time title winner seems “very depressed”.
“I miss the usual aggression, the willingness to fight that we know from him,” said the Quebecer. “Even on the radio, you hardly hear it anymore. Something has changed.”
Villeneuve thinks he is also “very unusual” that Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez also suddenly closed the significant performance gap between them and was consistently quicker in Baku.
Former world champion and Villeneuve’s former Williams teammate Damon Hill agrees.
“I don’t always agree with Jacques, but often I can’t help but agree.”
“It’s almost like Max accepts it. I expected him to react much more indignantly, because he’s not competitive. Normally, he says he won’t accept if something goes wrong. What does that mean if it’s true?”
Former F1 driver and fellow Dutchman Christijan Albers, a TV pundit, said he was unsure whether Verstappen was handling the performance slump well.
“I don’t think the approach after qualifying and races is good. I understand that everyone wants to see honesty, and Max is of course much younger, but what I’ve always seen with Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton is that they’ve been more supportive of their teams.”
As for David Coulthard, there is also some surprise after this weekend in Singapore.
“Verstappen didn’t manage to do things properly in the last part of qualifying, which is very unusual for him. Mistakes in the two fast laps? A time tied with Sergio Perez?”
“And we know he’s fiery and he’s got a lot of passion. When you win, everybody loves you. But when things aren’t going well, that raw passion comes out again in Verstappen.”
“But there, he showed no emotion. Nothing in the media, nothing on the radio. Maybe he accepts his fate while waiting for developments in Austin?”
