Max Verstappen had a very chaotic first few years with Red Bull. The Dutchman often used to be on the edge while driving and had several crashes. At the 2018 Canadian GP, a journalist asked him why he frequently crashes, to which Verstappen expressed his discontent with such persistent questions.
Per ESPN, he said, “I’m getting really tired of all the questions. I think if I get any more I might headb**t someone”.
Verstappen knew back then that he lacked the “finesse” while he was racing. That was rather mature of him at 21, to know and understand his weaknesses, but he was growing tired of all these comments about him being a crash-prone driver.
Verstappen recently reflected on these comments in a feature with Viaplay. The three-time champion stated, “At that moment, I was really p*ssed off. At some point, it’s enough.”
“I knew that I was making mistakes. But at some point, you have to stop moaning about it. Or else I would’ve really given him a headb**t.”
max: “at that moment, i was really pissed off. at some point it’s enough. i knew that i was making mistakes. but at some point you have to stop moaning about it. or else i would’ve really given him a headbutt.”
max about the canada 2018 press conference pic.twitter.com/SsTaFFL2TT
— nini (@SCUDERIAFEMBOY) September 27, 2024
2018 was the first season when Verstappen beat his teammate Daniel Ricciardo. But the Dutchman also had several DNFs due to his mistakes. This ruled him out of contention for podiums and wins many times. Back then, he stated that he won’t change his aggressive approach, but would certainly look to add more finesse.
Back then, Red Bull did not have a top car with Mercedes dominating the field. Still, the Austrian outfit were often in the mix for podiums and wins along with Ferrari whenever the Silver Arrows dropped the ball. Verstappen took good advantage of the same to win races from 2017 to 2020 before finally getting a championship-winning car in 2021.
