Max Verstappen never lost faith in himself amid the “bulls***” criticism that overshadowed his early form during this year’s Formula One championship.
The youngster, who only turned 21 at the end of September, was heavily scrutinised for a number of mistakes that cost him a shot at victory at the likes of the Chinese and Monaco Grand Prix early in the year.
During this period, Verstappen half-jokingly threatened ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix that he would “headbutt” the next person to ask him about his run of form.
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The Dutchman has since turnaround his fortunes, memorably claiming a shock victory at the Austrian Grand Prix and, more recently, securing second place in Austin last weekend.
Addressing the criticism he has faced this season, Verstappen insisted he always “kept believing in myself” in spite of his results.
“Most of it was just very unfair, so of course at one point I get tired of it,” he told ESPN in the wake of the US Grand Prix. “I know what I can do, it was just not coming out at the time, so I was working very hard at home to make sure it did come out. And then in Canada it did.
“I think I just needed a break from the bad string of results. I didn’t change anything in the way I was preparing for the weekend because I kept believing in myself that it would turned around.”
Verstappen also highlighted the difference in reaction to his own mistakes and those of Sebastian Vettel, whose errors on the grid have seen him fade away in this year’s title race.
“You see even a four-time world champion can make mistakes like that,” he said. “People saying I had to change my driving style, to me that was all big bulls***, to be honest.
“They don’t tell Sebastian to really change his driving style, I’ve never seen the headlines like that. At the end of the day driving on the limit, sometimes over it to achieve the best out of it, especially at such high speeds… mistakes are easily done.”
When asked if it would even be easy to just change his driving style, he replied: “You can’t. Even if people tell you to do that, that’s how you grew up and that’s how you are.”
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