SAO PAULO, Brazil — Formula One leader Max Verstappen hit back at critics of his driving, saying he was a triple world champion who knew what he was doing.
Red Bull’s Verstappen was twice penalised for forcing his McLaren title rival Lando Norris wide and going off and gaining an advantage when they clashed in last weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix.
Damon Hill, the 1996 world champion, told a Sky Sports podcast that Verstappen had used his car as a weapon and accused him of “Dick Dastardly stuff” — a reference to the 1960s ‘Wacky Races’ cartoon villain.
Asked directly at Brazil’s Interlagos circuit about Hill saying he was not sure Verstappen was capable of racing fairly, the reigning champion bristled.
“I don’t listen to those individuals, I just do my thing,” he said according to Reuters. “I’m a three-time world champion. I think I know what I’m doing.”
Asked if he felt unfairly targeted, Verstappen replied: “Honestly, I have my opinions. I don’t need to share them.”
The 27-year-old, who has not won for 10 races after dominating last season, said he listened to those who were objective and close to him and “not just there to stir”.
“Some people are just being very annoying,” he added. “And I know who these people are. I don’t really pay a lot of attention to them anyway.
“I think I’ve got to this stage in my career with the right people supporting me and making my own decisions. So I think I know what I’m doing.
“Some people are just a bit biased. I get it, it’s fine. But it’s not my problem at the end of the day. I just continue with my life and I keep performing.”
Norris said after the race that the Dutch driver had got what he had coming to him.
The Briton, second in Mexico with Verstappen sixth, goes into the sprint weekend in Sao Paulo 47 points behind his rival with four rounds remaining.
“I think it’s just you win some, you lose some. That’s how it is in racing in general,” said Verstappen when asked about racing hard and aggressively on the track.
“I like to win. I don’t like to lose. I think not many people like to lose. I just tried to maximise the result and, like I said, some you win, some you lose.”
Lando Norris said his title rival Verstappen knows deep down that he “did wrong” in their battle for position at the Mexico Grand Prix last weekend.
Verstappen was given two 10-second penalties for separate incidents with Norris at the Mexico Grand Prix, which saw the three-time world champion finish sixth at the chequered flag while Norris went on to secure second, narrowing the gap between the two to 47 points in the standings.
Norris, who twice had to take evasive action to avoid a collision with Verstappen, described his rival’s driving as “dangerous” after the race.
Unlike after the Austrian Grand Prix, when the pair discussed their collision in private before the next round, Norris said he and Verstappen had yet to talk about what happened in Mexico.
“No, we haven’t spoken. I don’t think we need to. I’ve got nothing to say,” Norris said.
“I still have a lot of respect for Max and everything he does. Not respect for what he did last weekend, but respect for him as a person and also what he’s achieved.
“But it’s not for me to speak to him. I’m not his teacher, I’m not his mentor or anything like that.
“Max knows what he has to do; he knows that he did wrong. Deep down he does and it’s for him to change, not for me.”
Norris conceded that he has not been aggressive enough with Verstappen at times this year, but said his objective had always been to avoid collisions and finish races.
“I think I’ve always had the mentality to want to race fair and clean and sometimes I’ve been, I think I probably said it last weekend, on the too kind side, whether I was attacking or defending and things like that,” he said.
“But I think I’ve always made good decisions from that side and sometimes I’ve paid the price for not being aggressive enough. But the rest of it is not up to me.
