Max Verstappen

The biggest risk for Leclerc is Ferrari itself. If he (more likely the team) fails then there is a limited scope of opportunities to move on. Its high risk for the guy and needs careful management to be part of the DNA in the team.

Even the mighty Schumacher moved on and I thought he would be entwined in the team forever.

 

He lacks an ounce of class and elegance; of course you can succeed in racing (or in Life, for the matter...) without these, but it is so much better when you have some.
And having class and elegance for a driver doesn't mean you would not be fast or ruthless on track, either: remember guys like Mika Hakkinen, or Jenson Button...or Ronnie Peterson, etc...
I suspect there is a factor of frustration here: having a car that doesn't allow him to have a shot at the title. And also a complete lack of standard education values.
Which Charles Leclerc seem to have received; and Charles has talent, and can be ruthless on track, too...
It's not in driving skills that Max is lacking; it in human dimension. The guy is not likeable by any mean...

Rgds

 

Agreed, and I think his comments of Ferrari pumping more fuel into the engine to boost power shows a lack of understanding. First, the car is limited to 105 litres of fuel (if the car is using more, fuel won't last), the regulator can't be played with (I'm sure the FIA is monitoring both flow and pressure), and should Ferrari have added another injector somewhere along the way to add more fuel, it would be seen in a visual inspection and the car would burn more fuel.

Perhaps Verstappen is smarter than than his comments, but not sure.

 

It is a little naive to think that Max is stating Ferrari issues without concrete proof. RB knows they (Ferrari) cheated and adding power after cornering (by killing the flow meter with high voltage pulses through a power line) will inject more fuel on a short but important time but on a whole lap this is too little to have problems in a later stage of the race.
Being a top sportsman doesn't mean you have to like him. Hakkinen was nice but not a top racer Button even a worse example. MS wasn't the nicest person either...(remember the way he won WDC by kicking Hill out....). MV is a talented driver that is hard on the track and not the best speaker in interviews but the latter doesn't give you the WDC. The key is on the track. He does things that other can't (look at the difference with Albon, I think the largest difference between a #1 and #2 driver of the whole field).

Ciao
Oscar

 

Adding power costs fuel and fuel is restricted, can't agree with your comments. Cars seem to be averaging about 2.5Km/litre of fuel, so any additional fuel burn will make the car be very short of fuel at the end, and doesn't the FIA monitor remaining fuel in the car tanks?

 

Verstappen hasn't brought any proof to support his statement.
All he has done is making accusations to the media.
I don't know if is Red Bull spokeman in this; they have kept quiet so far.
If Red Bull "knowns" that Ferrari is cheating, all they have to do is follow the procedures, and address tha FIA.
If they don't, they have no case and should just shut up.
I admired Racing Point, they put their money where their mouth was and denounced officially Renault for breaking the rules, and then proved their claim.
Horner and Co. just like to stir the **** with a trial by media without risking much.

 

Well...Button and Hakkinen are both World Champions, something that Max is yet to achieve; by the way, Hakkinen was indeed a top racer, remember that Micheal said that he was the only one that he ever feared.
Max might be talented and hard on track, but that does not give you the WDC either: being in the right team with the right car helps, and a well structured brain also; considering the latter point, as for Max, I have my doubts.
What is interesting in any World Champion is how natural speed and brain works together to achieve the Championship. For the time being, Max has not even be in a position to fight for a Championship, so we will have to wait...the only thing we already know is that he has been able to win races. As for a Championship, the proof will be in eating the pudding.
I don't "like" or "dislike" drivers, I just look at how they achieve what they achieve, or how the fail to. It's not that he is not "the best speaker in interviews": he often looks at best very clumsy, and sometimes frankly plain dumb, to the point that you might wonder if he has got the brain necessary to win a championship. At this point in time, I think Leclerc would be my choice between the two; fast, but very intelligent. Max is very fast, but not very intelligent.
Should the Red Bull-Honda never become able to be championship material, he would then have to look elsewhere; and he has already said enough stupid things to make the major players hesitate...
In a nutshell, this kid is immature. That was acceptable three years ago; not now anymore.

Rgds

 

Bravo, that's exactly what I think of Max.
I was expecting him to grow up, but he hasn't.

 

+1 and the leadership “enable” Max and his silly mouth. He is talented and is quite his own worst enemy. I’m glad he can pass other cars. World turns.....

 

Go Binotto! Max needs to shut it. He is creating potential problems for his team. Poor headwork on his part.

https://www.planetf1.com/news/binotto-confronted-horner-after-us-grand-prix/

Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto had a ‘firm discussion’ with Red Bull chief Christian Horner after the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.

Tensions between the two teams are on the rise and it all stems from the FIA issuing a Technical Directive on the engine after rivals asked the governing body for clarification on a specific ruling, suspecting that Ferrari’s intercooler was bleeding oil into the combustion process to create power boosts.

Lewis Hamilton believes that the TD did have an impact on Ferrari’s poor performance in Austin, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen outright accused Ferrari of cheating.

Verstappen’s comments drew a response from both Binotto and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with the latter saying Verstappen had “no clue” about what he was saying.

Ferrari have consistently said that they have not broken any rules and Binotto himself has offered his own explanation about the sudden lack of pace at the United States Grand Prix.

But as reported by Spanish outlet, MotorLat, Binotto went to confront Horner in the midst of the cheating allegations.

“We saw the English journalists in a meeting with Christian Horner and the tension in the air was cut with a knife,” reported Yhacbec Lopez, an accredited report for MotorLat.

“I was standing outside the Red Bull hospitaity when I could see how Mattia Binotto pass in front of the group of journalists and Horner. Mattia watched closely what happened there. Binotto observed and returned to his hospitality only to return a few minutes later, Horner said goodbye to the journalists present when Mattia headed inside the hospitality, looked for Horner who was at the entrance and immediately began an exchange of clear and blunt.

“Mattia had gone to look only for Horner and he demonstrated why he is a leader, he spoke firmly with Horner and there were complaints, what I managed to hear was a warning about legal actions.

“Horner explained that he only shared his opinions and Mattia replied in a strict tone, the level of the discussion went up. Evidently the discussion was full of tension.”

 

Indeed. Each time Max talks, he drowns himself a little bit deeper. In a world which is very aware of "image", this might not be a problem when you are advertising energy drinks. But at Mercedes or Ferrari...he really needs a very good engine from Honda, otherwise...in any standard team, someone would have explained to him that he better shut his mouth for good. But at Red Bull, the man in charge of the drivers is Helmut Marko; when you remember the comedy that Marko had with Renault a few years back ("we don't need your lousy engine any more, we had a deal with Mercedes"; then, discovering he had jumped without a parachute, he had to crawl on his knees to get an engine from Renault again...) you have to conclude that Max will not get much help from here..."nice guys" isn't it?

(I would be very interested, even captivated, if, or when, Max get a car that can allow him a shot at the title, to see if he has the brain to sustain a title campaign; that is open to conjecture...)

Rgds

 

Max seems programed to be remembered as a fast and talented failure.

 

It's pretty clear something was up with the Ferrari's. RB played it nice and the gentlemen way, claiming that something can't be illegal if there is no rule yet saying it's illegal. So they asked 'can we do this?' to which the FIA said no, and made a statement that this trick was illegal from now on. They could have played hardball which they didn't. And believe me, Merc and RB knew exactly what was going on with Ferrari. The extra fuel consumption was compensated for in slow corners i have read somewere.

Verstappen puts it a little blunt by saying that they were cheating for a long time, they all knew about it and now put a hold to it. He is a racing driver, not a politician.

I get it that since he's driving against Ferrari you all think he is a spoiled untalented overrated bloke...but than again...how would F1 been if Lauda , Schumacher etc in the early days would have been all boring figures like Bottas. No sir, you shall not pass in corners. That's to dangerous. After the race we are all invited for a nice cup of tea and shake hands and talk about our cats.

Come on, the guy is shaking up things and providing entertainment. I love to see the young guys fight for a victory. Got a slightly slower car...go for the gap on the first possibility!

 

Not sure this makes sense. Ferrari's aerodynamic package was set up for low drag on the straights with little downforce in corners, and that's where they lost their time. Time on the straights didn't make up their loss of downforce, so whoever made that statement I'm not convinced he / she knew what was being said.

 

Well, we all get our info from the internet, so we're all expert haha. I guess time will tell.

I really like Max, but if Ferrari 'cheated' they did a great job. If everybody except the teacher knows you're doing something you shouldn't do,you get the results you want and in the end don't get punished...kudo's for you.
But don't start whining if somebody says afterwards..'he, you cheated.' Be a man about it and be proud that you outsmarted the rest for as long as it lasted.

 

Agree ,
Jos is the main obvious culprit though

 

Of course, there is a bit of genius in Max running off at the mouth. Ferrari and its drivers are now spending time answering questions and rebutting Max’s assertions. It is time and energy taken away from doing what they should be doing: focusing on developing and racing their car.

 

More to the point how did any other team member find out Ferrari had a trick up its sleeve and it was "dodgy", it must of been a closely guarded secret and only party to a very few engineers and something not blatantly obvious just looking at the car. Did the FIA tell SF to remove the offending "item" ? Why not earlier if its illegal? or did they let the cat of out the bag?

However it was clearly obvious to people like LH and others that the car was "like a missile" down the straight - did SF show its straight line advantage in a rather crude way.

Technical Regulations

5.10 Fuel systems :
5.10.1 The pressure of the fuel supplied to the fuel injectors may not exceed 500bar. Only approved
parts may be used and the list of parts approved by the FIA, and the approval procedure, may
be found in the Appendix to the Technical Regulations.
5.10.2 There may only be one fuel injector per cylinder and no fuel injectors are permitted upstream
of the intake valves or downstream of the exhaust valves. Only approved parts may be used
and the list of parts approved by the FIA, and the approval procedure, may be found in the
Appendix to the Technical Regulations.
5.10.3 All cars must be fitted with a single fuel flow sensor, wholly within the fuel tank, which has
been manufactured by the FIA designated supplier to a specification determined by the FIA.
This sensor may only be used as specified by the FIA. Furthermore, all fuel delivered to the
power unit must pass through this homologated sensor, and must all be delivered to the
combustion chambers by the fuel injectors described by Article 5.10.2.
5.10.4 Homologated sensors which directly measure the pressure and temperature of the fuel
supplied to the fuel injectors must also be fitted, these signals must be supplied to the FIA data
logger.
5.10.5 Any device, system or procedure the purpose and/or effect of which is to increase the flow
rate or to store and recycle fuel after the measurement point is prohibited.

I am glad Binotto took Horner to task in a rather heated discussion. As for MV, karma will be sweet one day.

Regards

Tony

 

Nice commentary about the big mouth Max and his terrible attitude! -- https://www.planetf1.com/news/verstappen-angers-italian-press-with-ferrari-comments/

Max Verstappen has annoyed the Italian F1 press contingent, who have told the Red Bull driver to keep his mouth shut or bring evidence of cheating claims to light.

Verstappen had a go at Ferrari in the wake of the United States Grand Prix, a race weekend in which the Scuderia lacked pace with Charles Leclerc finishing 45s off the podium.

Verstappen believes the Scuderia’s drop-off was because of an FIA’s Technical Directive regarding fuel flow that forced them to stop “cheating”.

He told Ziggo Sport: “That’s what happens when you stop cheating, of course. But yeah, they had a good look at it. So now we have to keep a close eye on it, of course.”

Ferrari, as to be expected, were not impressed with the Dutchman’s comments – and neither was the Italian media.

“Simple one: Motor racing is not politics and opinions don’t count,” reported Autosprint.

“Only the truth counts and there are specific, credible and quick procedures to ascertain it.

“In the racing world, if someone believes that a rival is cheating, you can be sure that two seconds later he will make a complaint (to the FIA).

“But for now, before checking, there is only unsportsmanlike behaviour from Verstappen who said a very serious thing without having or providing any supporting evidence.

“Perhaps the best thing for a driver would be to keep quiet and keep his foot down, leaving it to others to investigate these alleged delicate matters.

“In football, an episode of this kind would be punished harshly, with a lot of money and disciplinary consequences. It would be good if in F1 things worked in the same way.

“If Red Bull has something to say about Ferrari, do it now or hold it forever.”

FormulaPassion.it’s Mauro Forghieri feels Verstappen’s criticism is a sign of an “unpleasant” personality.

“Today I consider Verstappen to be the true prototype of the new Formula 1 World Champion, but also a great champion to dislike, at least for me,” he wrote.

“Perhaps he does not know how to relate to others because he is too young.

“To be unpleasant to rivals is normal, especially when you beat them all, but just being generally unpleasant is exaggerated.

“When I say that the Red Bull driver is not very intelligent, I refer to his recent statement in which he accuses Ferrari of ‘cheating’.

“A true champion, a public figure, cannot express himself in that way, he must not allow himself to criticise others like this.

“Either he has the courage to substantiate his statement, or he should shut up.”

Flavio Vanetti from Motorsport.com’s Italian edition, said the Red Bull driver needs to be kept on a “leash”.

“In Max we recognise the personality, character, hardness, probably – I would add – even a good dose of cynicism: in this respect he is even more ‘complete’ than Michael Schumacher,” he said.

“But now the Flying Dutchman is exaggerating and the impression is that he is a character to be kept on a leash, both as a driver and as an external speaker.”

FormulaPassion’s Alberto Antonini feels Verstappen could learn from Lewis Hamilton’s behaviour.

He addedL “I only note that when Vettel won at Spa in 2018, the current World Champion said that the Ferrari driver had resorted to all his ‘tricks’; which does not necessarily mean an accusation of illegality and is a far cry, apart from language barriers, from the ‘cheating’ used by Verstappen.

“Perhaps it is no coincidence that Lewis Hamilton won his first title in the second season in F1 and Max, after five, is still chasing his.”

However, it wasn’t only the Dutchman who earned his ire.

He added: “Of course in this whole affair we have never heard directly from Toto Wolff and co.

“A matter of style, some will say; in order not to get their hands dirty, the detractors will reply.”

 

Highly excitable Italian media but this one rings the bell for me.

Mauro Forghieri feels Verstappen’s criticism is a sign of an “unpleasant” personality.

I have suspected this for a long time about him so the above quote i wholeheartedly agree with, the boy is a disgrace to even be honoured to wear a F1 racing overall - he belongs in the kiddies dodgem ride with a kojak lollipop.

What the oik hasnt understood, people need to talk about him for the right reasons, not the wrong ones!!

 

After that spat, I think that Verstappen can forget to ever drive for Ferrari in future !!

I don't think Maranello will ever forgive the smear.

 

Lewis Hamilton's success 'getting a bit boring' for Max Verstappen

Yes Max it is. But would be boring if you were doing the same.....

 

My 3-year-old niece feels the same way when her sister plays with a toy....

 

Max paused the boredom for a race.

Strong performance and he has the measure of Hamilton when the RB is in contention.

 

Terrific weekend from Verstappen. From clinching pole on Saturday through a spectacular race on Sunday.

No one questions his talent. If Honda can give him the push to compete on more circuits, he will be a force to be reckoned with.

However, he can be his own worst enemy -- it'll be interesting to see if that softens next year (provided he has a more competitive car)