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Former F1 world champion Damon Hill has defended his criticism of Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, claiming the Dutch star would “cry like a baby” if his rivals raced the way he did.
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Last year, Hill copped backlash for his widely-documented comments on four-time world champion Verstappen, arguing the 27-year-old drove too aggressively during races in Austin and Mexico.
Verstappen was penalised twice during last season’s Mexican Grand Prix, once for a collision with McLaren’s Lando Norris and another for gaining a position while off the track.
At the time, Hill declared that Verstappen was incapable of fair racing, jokingly comparing him to Wacky Races villain Dick Dastardly.
“The problem that Max has is that he simply refuses to concede any turf at all, to anyone, in an overtake,” Hill, who was a Sky Sports pundit at the time, said in October last year.
“It is possible to race fairly and that is something I’m not sure that Max is capable of – it’s not in his repertoire. It’s not in his philosophy. His philosophy is that ‘You’re not coming past’.”
When asked about Hill’s comments, Verstappen responded: “I don’t listen to those individuals. I just do my thing. I’m a three-time world champion.”
“Some people are just a bit biased,” Verstappen continued, adding he has “the wrong passport”.
During an interview with The Telegraph, Hill doubled down on his criticism of Verstappen, reiterating that he believed the Red Bull star overstepped the mark.
“I’m not anti-Max. This is the point. I think Max is brilliant. I like him. I mean what’s not to like? He’s sensational,” Hill explained.
“But when I felt he overstepped the mark, I said so. And I think Red Bull have a responsibility, their team management has a responsibility, to the sport you know? If their driver goes over the limit on occasion, they have a responsibility to say ‘You can’t do that.’ And they don’t. That’s always been my issue with them. That they have almost given Max carte blanche and protected their driver from not sticking to the code.”
He continued: “I’ll give you an example. (Last year) Max correctly interpreted to his advantage the rule about overtaking and being ahead at the apex on the inside. There’s nothing in the rules that says you can’t do that. And it’s exciting to see people dive down the inside. Except that no other driver does it. And if someone was to do it to him, he’d cry like a baby. And that’s one of my issues with them. Red Bull simply can’t accept that. No, it really is slightly disappointing, to say the least, that they like to be thought of as the hard kids on the block, but when something doesn’t go their way, they cry about it.”
After a 13-year stint at Sky Sports, Hill parted ways with the British broadcaster at the end of 2024 season.
The 64-year-old also censured Red Bull’s “unfair” attempt to discredit his remarks by pulling the British-biased card.
“On the whole they’ve always taken the view that Sky are British-centric and biased, which is really unfair I think,” Hill said.
“As I say, I like Max. What I don’t like is jingoism. And I don’t like the fact that it became a ‘You’re against us because we’re not British’ and all that nonsense, which was used as a way of pressuring us. It’s utterly unfair to suggest that there is any kind of anti-Dutch thing going on.”
