Has Max Verstappen lost control and given in to a certain despair? This is undoubtedly what many spectators have been wondering in recent weeks as they have seen the Dutchman evolve bodywork against bodywork against his British friend. His dive from afar and into a mouse hole at the first corner in Austin to get the better of Lando Norris was done on a razor's edge. Just like his defense outside the track limits against the same Englishman later in the race, who also received a penalty for having overtaken from outside the track. The aggressiveness of the three-time world champion was then called into question by both actors and followers, despite the absence of a penalty received.
In Mexico, a week later, the Red Bull driver undoubtedly paid Austin's bill a little since he received two ten-second penalties for two incidents that occurred on the same 10th lap. First by pushing Lando Norris outside the track limits at turn 4, then by literally throwing himself at turn 8 again forcing Lando Norris to leave the track limits. A behavior ultimately quite similar to what we saw from him at the end of 2021, in his Dantesque fight for the world crown against Lewis Hamilton.
Asked about the very critical reactions that his driving may have generated over the last two weeks, Max Verstappen was not very surprised, ensuring that he did not have the right passport in an F1 with a very British accent. “I've heard this before in my careerhe replied. This is my tenth season in Formula 1. I think I know what I'm doing. You win or you lose. This is how it happens on the track. I like to win and I hate to lose. Not many people like to lose, so I always try to make the most of it. »
Verstappen is not a dunce, he does his homework!
But then why does he allow himself to be so extreme and aggressive on the track? Contrary to what one might believe in this type of situation, Verstappen does not give in to any warlike passion, nor to reckless warlike impulses. In fact, quite the opposite is happening. These are fully thought out acts and executed with great composure. He uses his deep knowledge of the regulations, applying them to the letter.
In the texts, the pilot being in front of the rope has priority? No problem, overtaken by Norris, Max releases the brakes and makes sure to be flashed a few lengths in front of his rival on the rope, even if it means arriving at overspeed in the bend without ever being able to negotiate it according to the rules of the art. This is how he escaped the penalty in Texas, the commissioners having had no legal basis to penalize him. What we saw in Mexico next was even more distressing – or brilliant – it depends.
In Austin, Verstappen was aggressive with Lando Norris. © DPPI
Aware of the superior pace of the McLarens in the race, Verstappen, who started on the front row and a small position ahead of his British rival, implemented a simple stratagem: stay in front of the Briton at any cost, convinced that if Norris passed him , the latter would undoubtedly have the pace to pick up Carlos Sainz, which the end of the race of the leading McLaren driver rather confirmed.
Max was not surprised by the penalties given to him, the effort was even generally calculated after noticing his lack of rhythm from the first loops. By losing to Norris in this first stint, he could have lost up to twelve points on his championship rival (if he won), compared to the ten he ultimately conceded to him due to his penalty. yet heavy and he did not imagine so salty.
For the majority of players, these are unfair maneuvers going against the spirit of F1. For him, it is nothing more and nothing less than the rational optimization of regulations and situations. Neither party is wrong, fundamentally, it all depends on the reading prism and the sensitivity of each person.
2021-2024, same fight?
These are patterns quite close to what we have seen in the past with him, notably in Jeddah three years ago where he tried to knock out the seven-time world champion. What do the end of the 2021 season and the end of the current campaign have in common? The Dutchman has a certain lead in the championship, and must defend it against a competitor with an overall faster car.
From now on, his goal is no longer to win races. It is simply to finish ahead of Lando Norris, or at worst a respectable distance away. This is also what Johnny Herbert, former driver at the 161 Grands Prix and now a member of the panel of stewards working during race weekends, noted. He was among those in Mexico when the double penalty was given to Max Verstappen.
“They will not prevent (penalties) Max Verstappen to push Lando Norris off the track again in the future, Johnny Herbert assured Action Network. I don't see Verstappen's driving changing because his main objective is to prevent Norris from closing the championship gap. We potentially still have a lot of interesting races to come. »
Two men for one title. © Eric Alonso / DPPI
Charles Leclerc, who took advantage of Verstappen's aggressiveness on Norris in these last two races to gain three places in Austin and two in Mexico, was even amused by it. “I welcome Max being as aggressive as possible towards Lando, because it helps me”he said with a smile on his lips. “His intention was to try to allow Ferrari to achieve the double,” continues Herbert. I think that's really what Verstappen tried to do, I understand why he did it, but I don't agree with it. And I don't think a lot of people are. »
Norris stays straight in his pumps
Between losing a title with class while preserving his image in addition to respecting a certain idea of morality, and winning a 4th despite a declining single-seater by jockeying for help and optimizing situations even if it meant being somewhat subversive, Verstappen did his choice. Aware of Mercedes' current difficulties, Max knows full well that he will often finish 5th in the worst case scenario.
And by letting Ferrari go for victory, he knows full well that only the gap between first and second place is important (7 points). Thus, by preventing Norris from winning, he ensures that he does not lose too many units compared to him in accounting terms. “Max, while leading the championship, must concentrate on his main rivals, and if I were in his place I would also do everything possible to bring the trophy home” testified Kevin Magnussen.
Of the 70 points lead he had over Lando on the evening of Zandvoort, five Grands Prix ago, Max has only lost 23. Proof that his aggressive strategy, although not very popular, works wonderfully. It remains to be seen what he will invent for us at Interlagos, where he will probably start at a respectable distance from Lando Norris due to his five-position penalty which he will receive for an engine change.
In Woking, the situation is enough to get on the nerves, but we are working to protect Lando Norris in this situation. “I think Lando is now a mature driver to succeed in this kind of fight, which is a fight against one of the best drivers, I think, in the history of Formula 1a contextualisé Andrea Stella. So we keep telling Lando to keep doing what he's doing, to keep improving, to become the best version of ourselves. »
“So I think, from Lando’s point of view, this is how racing should be done. Lando also reflects, in his way of running, our own values. We run fair. We run correctly. We run sportily. Ultimately, in this kind of close fight, there is a third part. It's the commissioner. We trust him. I think in Mexico it worked very well and we had some good races. »
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