Damon Hill Verstappen’s fear tactics compromise rivals’ chances

Hill slams Verstappen’s “intimidation tactics” in title race

02/11/2024

Damon Hill critiques Verstappen, accusing him of leveraging fear to unsettle competitors in his relentless pursuit of dominance.

1996 F1 World Champion Damon Hill hasn’t held back in once again criticising Max Verstappen’s driving style during the Mexican Grand Prix, describing his tactics as “relying on fear and intimidation.”

Hill’s recent remarks follow a series of previous criticisms directed at Verstappen, which in turn prompted a rebuke from the Dutch driver himself.

Defensive in response, Verstappen retorted, “I don’t listen to these individuals.”

Questioned on Verstappen’s approach, Hill stood by his comments.

“I believe he uses fear and intimidation. He’s also outlined his tactics somewhat—viewing it as a gamble. Sometimes it pays off, and sometimes he gets the upper hand with the stewards, who might choose not to apply a penalty.”

“He also uses it as a way to compromise his title rival, Lando Norris. So, there’s a certain logic, a method to his aggression. He claims to know what he’s doing, but is it fair and just?”

Hill also dismissed claims of any bias or “vendetta” against Verstappen.

“The stewards don’t want dangerous scenarios either, like changing lines in a braking zone and so on, which he’s done in the past.”

“That’s why additional rules have been introduced to address such actions. When he talks about individuals, it’s not about particular people. It’s almost universally disapproved of. That’s the point. It’s not a vendetta against Max.”

“It’s simply people who follow racing wanting it conducted reasonably and fairly. If everyone behaved like that, it would be absurd, foolish, and not worth watching. We love close racing. Here we are in São Paulo, where it all began in 2021, with him sending Lewis off at Turn Four.”

“Everyone thought: ‘Hang on a minute, you can’t just push someone off the track to defend.’ And yet he continues to do it.”

Damon Hill: Verstappen’s fear tactics compromise rivals’ chances Damon Hill: Verstappen’s fear tactics compromise rivals’ chances

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Full 2025 F1 testing results

Carlos Sainz
1
CARLOS
SAINZ
Leader
Lewis Hamilton
2
LEWIS
HAMILTON
+0.031s
Charles Leclerc
3
CHARLES
LECLERC
+0.083s
George Russell
4
GEORGE
RUSSELL
+0.197s
Max Verstappen
5
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
+0.218s
Alex Albon
6
ALEX
ALBON
+0.302s
Kimi Antonelli
7
KIMI
ANTONELLI
+0.436s
Oscar Piastri
8
OSCAR
PIASTRI
+0.592s
Pierre Gasly
9
PIERRE
GASLY
+0.692s
Lance Stroll
10
LANCE
STROLL
+0.881s
Liam Lawson
11
LIAM
LAWSON
+0.904s
Jack Doohan
12
JACK
DOOHAN
+1.020s
Yuki Tsunoda
13
YUKI
TSUNODA
+1.149s
Isack Hadjar
14
ISACK
HADJAR
+1.327s
Fernando Alonso
15
FERNANDO
ALONSO
+1.352s
Esteban Ocon
16
ESTEBAN
OCON
+1.380s
Lando Norris
17
LANDO
NORRIS
+1.534s
Gabriel Bortoleto
18
GABRIEL
BORTOLETO
+1.709s
Nico Hulkenberg
19
NICO
HULKENBERG
+2.109s
Oliver Bearman
20
OLIVER
BEARMAN
+3.013s

Testing Total Distance Covered by Team

1
Mercedes
458
2
Haas
457
3
Racing Bulls
454
4
Alpine
405
5
Williams
395
6
Ferrari
382
7
McLaren
381
8
Sauber
354
9
Aston Martin
306
10
Red Bull
304
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16 MAR 04:00
F1 CALENDAR 2025
Race
Date
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Australian
Albert Park
16 Mar
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Chinese
Shanghai International
23 Mar
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Japanese
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6 Apr
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13 Apr
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Jeddah Street
20 Apr
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