Max Verstappen’s aggressive driving nature has often gotten him in trouble on the track and landed him in hot water with several key figures in the F1 community. But the Dutchman has scrapped with no one as often as Damon Hill, who has almost made it a point to never miss on taking a dig at him.
In 2024, Hill mentioned that Verstappen uses ‘fear and intimidation’ to get the better of his opponents. He also compared the Red Bull driver to Dick Dastardly, which many believe cost him his job as a pundit at Sky Sports — a fact he has denied.
Hill isn’t a part of any broadcasting team this year. However, he has used social media to once again call out Verstappen.
Four-time world champion Alain Prost had made a comparison between Niki Lauda and Verstappen, and although Hill agreed to one aspect of it, he couldn’t help but point out a stark difference between the two.
Prost commented, “Max is like Niki when it comes to directness… If you asked Lauda anything the answer was always honest… Verstappen is a very easygoing man, he says what he thinks.”
The Frenchman, by no means, was wrong. Verstappen is brutally honest with his feedback and thoughts, whether it is in person, or in front of the media. However, Hill brought something completely different into the conversation when he reshared the story. Their driving style.
“I agree with that, he never misses a beat. But Lauda drove with his mind, not his fists,” the 1996 World champion wrote.
Damon Hill brings up Max Verstappen’s aggressive driving style with his latest indirect jibe pic.twitter.com/xY1KMEGmuT
— Motorsport Fan (@F1IndyWEC) March 18, 2025
Prost had avoided commenting on the Dutchman’s on-track behavior altogether, making Hill’s response rather unnecessary. The question now is whether Verstappen will respond again.
Another Verstappen vs Hill war of words?
Verstappen rarely ignores negative comments about him. So when tensions escalated after the 2024 Mexico City GP — where he pushed Lando Norris off track — it was inevitable that he would respond to Hill.
“He made no attempt to back off” ❌
Damon Hill discusses Max Verstappen’s driving style after his two penalties at the Mexico City Grand Prix pic.twitter.com/zi5T5c9trs
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) October 29, 2024
“I don’t listen to those individuals. I just do my thing,” he said. “I am a three-time world champion. I think I know what I am doing.”
The verbal exchange didn’t end there, as Hill went on to question the fairness of Verstappen’s actions. “As he says, he knows what he’s doing but is it right? And is it fair? We shouldn’t be condoning driving cars off the track,” the ex-Williams driver added.
Verstappen, however, remained unfazed, insisting he would never change his approach to driving, regardless of what critics like Hill thought. Now, with the Briton taking another dig at him, Verstappen might fire back with a snarky response — perhaps at this weekend’s Chinese GP.
