Last Updated on August 11 2025, 8:31 pm
Verstappen ‘high praise’ from British media – Formula One has had a number of pantomime villains in its history and any driver who has gone on to dominate, risks alienating the public who wish to see exciting and unpredictable racing. Michael Schumacher was the first driver to win five driver titles in succession and towards the end of his era of domination with Ferrari he was regularly the subject of criticism.
Schumacher insisted to Ferrari that his whoever his team mate was must in fact be the number two driver and that any potential advantage be given to the German ace. Both Rubens Barrichello and Felipe Massa after him were forced to give up potential race wins and positions all in the Schumacher cause.
In the British F1 media Michael was frequently lambasted following his his ‘accidental’ collision with Damon Hill in Australia 1994, in which both drivers were forced to retire, preventing Hill from winning his first championship. Schumacher indeed had another ‘inglorious’ moment towards the end of his Ferrari career, when having notched provisional pole, he parked his car in the Rascasse corner in Monaco 2006, to prevent his arch rival Fernando Alonso from going quicker.
Schumacher: F1’s pantomime villan
The stewards were not amused and sent the Ferrari driver to the back of the grid. Formula One enjoyed an era where no driver dominated for half a decade, with Alonso, Hamilton, Raikkonen and Jenson Button all becoming popular title winners, then along came Sebastian Vettel and along with his uber dominant success, came the boos from the fans.
Vettel had what at the time was a unique celebration when winning. He would exit his Red Bull car at the end of a race and vigorously shake his forefinger, making a ‘number one’ kind of statement. For this he earned the nickname, finger boy, from the TJ13 crew. And of course on his way to four consecutive titles, Sebastian became entitled expecting Red Bull to decide all team mate decisions in his favour.
This was epitomised at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix with the Red Bull “multi-21” saga. It was just the second race of the season and at the opener Kimi Raikkonen for Lotus had been the surprise winner. The fight for the win in Malaysia was between the two Red Bull drivers and Mark Webber was ahead after the final round of pit stops.
As was Red Bull’a want at the time, whichever driver led after the final change of rubber, was ‘given’ the win to prevent the pair battling each other and both cars ending up out of the race. “Multi-21” simply was the call to hold station, with Vettel designated as the number one and Mark Webber the number two. Red Bull had called the final race order as driver 2 ahead of driver 1.
Vettel boo’d by fans
However, Vettel decided he was unhappy with the team order, he secretly turned up his engine to overtake his team mate, refusing to hand back the place regardless of instructions from the team. From hereon, the boos around the world would begin whenever Vettel would be presented with a trophy.
And now we have Max Verstappen. Loved and despised in equal measure. The Dutchman is well accustomed to some ‘audience feedback’ and his former team boss Christian Horner would regularly assert that Red Bull would be more popular if its drivers were British.
A number of on track controversies have led to Max becoming the latest F1 “villain” with the British contingent of fans, the biggest being his defeat of Lewis Hamilton gunning for the record eight drivers’ title in 2021. Of course it wasn’t Verstappen’s fault the race director changed the safety car protocol which led to the infamous Verstappen win in Abu Dhabi.
Yet the British media immediately resorted to a “Lewis was robbed” narrative, something which stuck and had negative connotations for the Dutch driver as evidenced by the Red Bull boycott of Sky when one of their presenters repeated this mantra again in Mexico 2023.
Verstappen finds favour with British journalists
Max was booed by the majority English audience at this year’s season opener held at the O2 in London where he and team mate Liam Lawson were the only drivers not to make a public address. Christian Horner later reflected: “Fans will always back the teams and drivers they want to. Of course we have been the protagonists over the years. The only disappointment I had with it was the reception to Max as a four-time world champion, that was disappointing.”
Yet now it appears Max has turned his public persona around in one section of the British media as British motorsport journalist, Chris Harris, reflects on his time he spent with Max Verstappen when creating content for a Ford performance short film.
”The thing you need to know about Max Verstappen is that most people in the UK have got him wrong. And that’s why I suppose I’m proud of the film,’’ says the former top gear presenter. Harris goes on to reveal the purpose of the project, was to present the F1 champion in as fair a light as possible.
“I think we’ve not done a job in repositioning how people think about him, that would be too cynical. What we’ve done is we’ve let you see who he is. And frankly, he’s one of us. He’s a very, very uncomplicated man who happens to have been born with a set of skills to drive a racing car in a manner that none of us can really understand.’’
Long road ahead to popularity in England
With four consecutive championships under his belt, the current world champion is accustomed to his talents being discussed publicly. “Even more bizarrely, he’s actually aware of his talent and he’s able to express what he’s doing,” adds Harris.
He chooses not to completely in that film. But that’s all part of the fun of the film, isn’t it? He’s not going to give away the secret sauce recipe. But I have to say he was just super relaxed. He was a total joy to work with.’’ The often outspoken British journalist concluded: “I sound like I’ve been an absolute sycophant here, but I tell you, if he wasn’t, I tell you he was a dickhead. But he really wasn’t. He was everything people had told me he would be.’’
Of course this won’t cut the mustard with the Hamfosi, who see Verstappen as the evil presence who prevented their hero from claiming the panacea of F1 greatness with an eight world title. Yet in one small corner of the skeptical British motorsport’s media, Verstappen has now been seen for who he truly is.
MORE F1 NEWS – Norris finally cracked the code to beat Piastri
For much of the first half of the 2025 Formula One season, the McLaren garage has been the scene of a polite but increasingly pointed civil war. On one side, the cool-headed, data-loving Oscar Piastri, who treats the championship like a mathematical equation he is patiently solving. On the other, Lando Norris, the mercurial Brit with a tendency to light up a race one week and set it on fire (metaphorically and occasionally literally) the next.
At times, it looked as though Norris’s title challenge would fade before it truly began. Piastri’s clean weekends and error-free consistency contrasted sharply with Norris’s occasional lapses — those small but costly mistakes that seem harmless in the moment yet pile up like unclaimed baggage at Heathrow. Against the backdrop of a mentally unshakable Australian, some feared Norris’s more emotive style would crumble under sustained pressure.
And yet, as the circus rolled into Hungary, the narrative shifted. Norris had already taken commanding wins in Austria and at his home Grand Prix at Silverstone. Piastri replied with victory in Belgium, but Norris came straight back in Budapest. That win came despite a sluggish getaway that dropped him from third to fifth in the opening laps — proof, perhaps, that the Norris of mid-season 2025 is made of sterner stuff. As the dust settled on the Hungaroring, he found himself just nine points behind his team-mate heading into the summer break….. READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
