Damon Hill speaks full of praise about Max Verstappen. The former Formula 1 driver sees the Dutchman as a thoroughbred driver who is never easily distracted by what is happening outside the sport. Despite the end of the Abu Dhabi GP last season, Hill hopes the fans at Silverstone will welcome him warmly.
Damon Hill speaks full of praise about Max Verstappen. The former Formula 1 driver sees the Dutchman as a thoroughbred driver who is never easily distracted by what is happening outside the sport. Despite the end of the Abu Dhabi GP last season, Hill expects the Silverstone fans to welcome him warmly.
The Briton is impressed with the Red Bull Racing driver. "Max is a thoroughbred racing driver," Hill told the Mirror newspaper. "He doesn't seem to be interested in anything other than getting in the car - winning races - and then going home to live his life."
Even at a young age, Verstappen managed to impress the Sky Sports analyst: "He is very intelligent. He impressed me with his maturity - even from the early days when he was 17. At that age, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. He always wanted to be an F1 driver. And a world champion. A winner. The way I read it, his life is directed that way. Some people are not like that - most young people are - they have been racing go-karts since they were little.
While other F1 drivers have other activities besides racing, Hill sees Verstappen focusing entirely on racing: "But he doesn't seem to be distracted or interested in the strange things you see. He is not, for example, like Daniel Ricciardo, who is also an artist."
"He likes to project his personality. He's not like Lewis or Sebastian Vettel, who are campaigning. That's all he is there to do - work with his team - and win," the Briton opined.
Next week is the British GP. Hill believes that the fans present will be furious with Verstappen after the controversial Abu Dhabi GP, which saw Lewis Hamilton lose an eighth world title to the Dutchman.
"I think British fans love F1. They love motorsport and they appreciate anyone who gives 100 percent and puts on a really good show. When Ferrari won at Silverstone a few years ago, the team boss, Maurizio Arrivabene, was grateful and surprised by the victory. Especially because if you win in Italy and it's not Ferrari, you don't get any kind of reception! The British love their sport - I know Max was the villain after Abu Dhabi - but he was just doing what he was built to do, and it's the same with Lewis," concluded the 1996 world champion.