F1 pundit DEFENDS Max Verstappen in 'petulant' confrontation with fan

Max Verstappen

Sky F1 pundit DEFENDS Verstappen in 'petulant' confrontation with fan

David Croft has defended Max Verstappen in a controversial debate

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Tuesday 14 January 2025 22:57

Sky F1 pundit David Croft has come to the defence of four-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen in a debate over his 'aggressive' driving style.

The Dutchman has often faced criticism for his antics on the race track, and reignited debate over his aggressive defence behind the wheel again last season following frequent battles with the McLaren of Lando Norris.

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Verstappen seemingly silenced critics by claiming his fourth consecutive title last year, further cementing his place in the F1 history books, yet his defensive racing style also raised eyebrows, handing him his fair share of FIA penalties last season.

The 27-year-old most notably sparked debate over his style once again in 2024 following the Mexican Grand Prix, where he and closest title rival Norris found themselves in an altercation at Turn 7.

The Red Bull star lunged into a questionable move around the outside of Norris' papaya machinery, failing to make the exit and taking them both off the track, landing himself two 10-second penalties.

Max Verstappen has frequently been labelled an 'aggressive' driver during his F1 career

Max Verstappen was handed a double 10-second penalty for the incident at the Mexican GP

Verstappen's controversial racing style

Now, in a clip which has surfaced via social media platform X, Sky F1 pundit Croft, or Crofty as he is often referred to, has sparked the debate once again.

When asking a fan why he didn't want Verstappen to win, the fan responded: "This is controversial but I don't like the man."

Croft then continued the debate by querying the member of the crowd over whether he had ever met Verstappen or even knew him, to which he responded no to both.

After being pushed to give a reason for his dislike of the Red Bull star, the fan declared: "He's over-aggressive on track, he's a petulant individual when it comes to the other drivers, I just don't like him."

Following the bold declaration of criticism, the Sky F1 pundit jumped to the defence of the four-time champion.

"The thing about Max is that he does what he does to win and to be a champion.

"Red Bull are paying him to win and be a champion, so he’s doing what’s expected of him. I have no problem with that whatsoever."

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“the thing about max is that he does what he does to win and to be a champion. redbull are paying him to win and be a champion. so he’s doing what’s expected of him. i have no problem with that whatsoever.”

crofty defending max. oh my

[📸 fastway1com] pic.twitter.com/MB4GqX2XJH
— nini (@SCUDERIAFEMBOY) January 11, 2025

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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Max Verstappen FIA Lando Norris Aston Martin Mexican Grand Prix David Croft