Max Verstappen 'a hard racer who is not going to change' - Christian Horner

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen fighting before the crash — Photo: © LAT Images

Red Bull

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Verstappen 'a hard racer who is not going to change' - Horner

Red Bull driver has been involved in numerous incidents with Lewis Hamilton

Ian Parkes

Tuesday 5 October 2021 08:00

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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner does not believe Max Verstappen will alter his "attacking driver" instinct in going wheel to wheel with Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen and seven-time F1 champion Hamilton have been involved in numerous incidents this year, notably in the British and Italian Grands Prix that have had severe ramifications on their championship aspirations.

Up until Silverstone, Verstappen was arguably the more aggressive driver at which point Hamilton decided he would no longer back down.

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Suggested to Horner it might be wise for Verstappen to play the percentage game in certain situations, such as the one in Monza for which he was deemed predominantly to blame by the stewards, Horner said: "Of course, we always review any incident and look at it very carefully.

"You always think, 'Okay, could I have done anything differently, could I have done anything better?' I think Max is always very open to that.

"He’s extremely self-critical. You’re always learning but he’s a hard racer, it’s part of his characteristic, it’s part of why he has the following that he does.

"You know when he’s in the car, he’s going to give 110 per cent. I think that also has an impact on the driver he’s racing because they just know he’s going to go for it.

"Of course, there has to be measure, and I think at the right times he has shown that measure in different races, even that we’ve seen this year.

"But it’s part of the character that he is, that he’s an attacking driver. It’s part of his make-up and I don’t think that’s going to change."

Hamilton has changed his approach - Mercedes boss Wolff

Offering his thoughts on the topic, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said: "They race each other very close now which wasn’t the case in the past.

"We are discussing these things in detail as well and I think the change of approach is that Lewis decided not to bail out anymore when he thinks that the corner is his.

"And now it needs two to tango. It needs two to understand each other on track when a collision can be avoided.

"As Christian said, they are in the cars, we have no influence on the driving, they will know much better than we how the other one is racing. It’s interesting to watch."