Max Verstappen

Sky Sports pundit claims Max Verstappen at risk of tarnishing F1 legacy

Max Verstappen is under fire for his antics at the Spanish GP

Matthew Hobkinson Lead Editor

F1 Editor & Journalist

Thursday 5 June 2025 10:45

Sky Sports F1 pundit David Croft has warned Red Bull star Max Verstappen that he is at risk of being remembered for the wrong reasons following his clash with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix.

The fallout from the controversial incident that saw Verstappen and Russell collide twice at the end of the race in Barcelona last weekend continues to rumble on.

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It appeared that Verstappen intentionally drove his RB21 into Russell - something that the Dutchman said was unimportant when quizzed about it by Sky reporter Rachel Brookes after the race.

And now 'Crofty' - Sky's voice of F1 providing race commentary for fans in the UK -has warned that despite all of Verstappen's brilliance, he faces the risk that people will have short-term memories when they look back on his F1 career.

Croft: People will remember Max for this

"It was that red mist that descended on Max," he told Sky's F1 Show when discussing the contact between Russell and Verstappen.

"I'm glad that he's come out and said look it shouldn't have happened. I apologise to the team - shouldn't have done it.

"That shows a mature Max and we want to see that. But we also want to see a mature Max Verstappen on the track and not doing things like that.

"He is a better driver than this sort of thing, and he keeps getting remembered for this sort of thing."

As Croft rightly highlights, Verstappen is a generational talent and regardless of what the future holds for the Dutchman in the sport - nobody can take away his four F1 titles.

Yet the 27-year-old sits just one penalty point away from a race ban. Verstappen knows that he has to race cleanly in the next two races to avoid a mandated suspension from the sport.

Although Croft is perhaps right with Verstappen needing to reign it on track for the sake of his legacy in the sport - he also needs to do so to protect the fading hopes of making it five drivers' titles in a row.

The Red Bull star is now 49 points adrift of Oscar Piastri after nine races in 2025.

Lando Norris - who many tipped to run away with the title this season such was the expected dominance of McLaren's 2025 challenger - is 10 points behind his team-mate and main title threat ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix next week.