Verstappen Plays 'Intimidating Role' Just Like Ayrton Senna Used To According To Herbert

Sunday, 17 March 2024 at 07:30

Former F1 driver Johny Herbert compared the driving styles of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton to the rookie who debuted in F1 during the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Nowadays, we don't see it as much as we used to, maybe a few years ago, because Verstappen starts a race from pole position and finishes first, but he is known for his "elbows out" driving style.

It was maybe the most visible during the 2021 season in his battles with Lewis Hamilton. The three-time Grand Prix winner, Johny Herbert, suggests Verstappen made himself wide as part of an "intimidating role." He told the Dutch edition of RacingNews365.

"Verstappen made himself very wide, and I fully understand that. It was part of an intimidating role he was trying to play."

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The 59-year-old also compared the triple World Champion to Ayrton Senna, who used to be known for the same thing. You also surely know Senna's saying: "If you no longer go for a gap that exists, you're no longer a racing driver."

Similar to the Dutchman, the Brazilian driver wasn't afraid of colliding with others, and it then showed on track as Herbert described:

"I remember everyone saying that years ago about Ayrton Senna: if you looked in your mirrors and saw his yellow helmet, the drivers would pull over. Max did the same thing and is still playing that game now."

So, what is the difference between the Dutchman and Lewis Hamilton? Herbert sees the seven-time World Champion as doing the same, but in a different, "more calculated" way.

Ollie (Oliver Bearman), who drove his first-ever race in Formula 1 during the second Grand Prix of the 2024 season, is more like Hamilton in this way, according to the former F1 driver. He said:

"Lewis does that too, but in a very different way. You don't see it as often with him as with Max. Ollie is probably more like Lewis in that way. Ollie is not aggressive, he is just calculated, very calculated."