Finally, it’s been a Formula One season to get the blood pumping. Over the past few years, Mercedes domination has left everyone else in their dust. But, in 2017/18 season, there have been driver changes, overtaking, and a titanic battle between Hamilton and Vettel. There has even been drama over Honda’s future in the sport, with Red Bull and McLaren swapping engine manufacturers.
However, one thing we haven’t seen this season is the dominance of a young, Dutch driver. Verstappen seemingly has the F1 world as his feet, with a mastery of his car and sheer pace. But, it hasn’t been a good year so far with seven DNFs to date. As a result, he stands sixth, 70 points off his nearest rival, Kimi Räikkönen.
Many believe that his poor start is because of bad luck, but does he have to share more of the blame?
He Is No Angel
Although the majority of his DNFs have nothing to do with driver error, there are incidents which aren’t as conclusive. The most obvious conflict is the now infamous crash between both Red Bull drivers in Hungary. On the very first lap of the race, the Dutchman collided with his Australian team and forced him out of the contest. Ricciardo was apologetic afterwards, branding his teammate “amateur” and saying he made a “very poor mistake.” Verstappen even apologised and accepted his ten-second stop-and-go penalty without much fuss. There was also the incident at the recent Singapore Grand Prix. Although believed to the innocent party, there are rumours he is not race fit mentally this year.
A Blameless Bystander
However, the majority of experts would agree that both Räikkönen and Vettel were to blame for the recent Singapore crash. In fact, most of the incidents involving Verstappen are seemingly nothing to do with him. It sounds strange to say when he’s been in the wall so many times you hope has a car accident attorney on speed dial, but he gets cleared. From Singapore to Canada and Azerbaijan, he has yet to receive a telling off from the stewards. Indeed, Hungary is the only time this year where a crash involving the Verstappen has resulted in a penalty for the Dutchman. This stat alone would suggest he is not to blame even if he isn’t an angel.
Flying Start
Verstappen gets off the line so quickly that fellow drivers report him for flying starts. Of course, this isn’t the case – his reaction times are just off the charts. Compared to the rest of the paddock, there is no one close to his starts. Sadly, it’s a gift and a curse because they have put him in harm’s way more often than not. At the last race, the fact that he gained so much on Vettel meant the German had to move over to cover him. That pushed him into the other Ferrari where Verstappen became the meat in the sandwich. And, the last race isn’t the only example. From China to Silverstone, he hits his straps. In both of these races, it resulted in a 3rd and 4th place finish, respectively. However, it was another DNF in Austria.
Young At Heart
There is no doubt he shows maturity beyond his years on the race track. Still, there are times when the innocence of youth appears to get in the way. Yes, he is an innocent bystander in a lot of his crashes this year, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t preventable. Räikkönen is a perfect example of a wise head on relatively young shoulders. Whenever there is a situation which is risky, he calculates the pros and cons. Sometimes, he battles for track positions and wins. Other times, he accepts defeat and keeps the bigger picture in mind. There is a theory that Verstappen’s headstrong attitude might be a reason for the high number of incidents this year.
But Still A Racing Driver
Whether he needs to accept more responsibility, one thing is for sure: he won’t. Yes, he apologised at the Hungaroring, but those circumstances were different. With a teammate baying for blood, it was the only option to prevent a civil war. When the team isn’t in jeopardy, however, he stays quiet and for good reasons. Racing drivers are competitive beings and need to maintain that element to be successful. Plus, the more he admits he is at fault, the more he might be blamed unfairly.
Take a leaf out of Hamilton’s book, Max, and never admit guilt. Never.
