Red Bull F1’s Adrian Newey praises Max Verstappen as ‘easy to work with’ and defends he was unfairly ‘stigmatised’ after his crash in the 2021 title fight with Lewis Hamilton.
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton shared a tense rivalry in the 2021 F1 season, with the two drivers clashing on numerous occasions.
Adrian Newey has praised his ease of working with Max Verstappen and defended him against any suggestion that his riding style is “wild”.
“The nice thing about Max is that he always knows what the car is capable of.
“His feedback is good. He knows very well what the tires are doing and how to handle them. I think his reputation for being wild is unfair.”
Adrian Newey believes Max Verstappen has been unfairly judged by some in his rivalry with Lewis Hamilton.
One of the incidents highlighted by Adrian Newey was the controversial first lap collision at British F1 FP. Max Verstappen crashed out of the race and was taken to hospital for tests. Lewis Hamilton took a 10 second penalty but still won.
“Maybe what he did last year in Brazil was a bit bad. The Saudis were stupid. I think he was frustrated that Lewis didn’t pass it, but still he shouldn’t have had the brake test. No,” said Adrian Newey of Max Verstappen.
“But for me Silverstone was a clear professional foul[di Hamilton]and people seem to have a vague memory of it. They stigmatized the individual. It takes time to go away.”
“He’s very easy to work with and very open. Ask him anything and he’ll always try.”
