Martin Brundle is curious to see if Max Verstappen will avoid tarnishing his reputation like he thinks happened to Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna.

The Red Bull driver couldn't keep up with Ferrari's pace at the Austrian GP, but Brundle praised Verstappen's "fair" race against Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

"The Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz were simply better on their tires and much faster than Verstappen, and some margin allowed them to go twice as fast in their first stint on the mediums," Brundle wrote in his column for the .

"They were able to quietly regain track position against Max, who was once again quite fair and professional in his driving and defense."

Brundle believes Verstappen has often taken this approach in the battles in 2022, but he questioned whether the Dutchman will continue to do so if the championship fight heats up.

"In general, he is being fair this year, despite pushing the limits in his defense against Mick Schumacher the week before at Silverstone," Brundle continued.

"I remember commenting in Jeddah last year, the incredible legacies of Michael Schumacher and to some extent Ayrton Senna are partially diminished by dirty driving, and it would be good Max to avoid that reputation in his career."

"It will be interesting to see what happens if things literally turn ugly in the championship."

Although Leclerc has regained second position in the world championship with his victory at the Red Bull Ring, Verstappen still has a 38-point lead. However, Brundle acknowledges that the story could have been different.

"Max leads the championship in a calm and skillful manner, 38 points ahead of Charles. However, it could have been very different if Ferrari had been more reliable in Spain and Azerbaijan, or smarter in strategy in Monaco and England."

"Of course, Max had two pit stops in the first three races, but Leclerc's pace has been deeply impressive, and if you are neutral in your analysis, so far we are being deprived of another exciting championship."