Damon Hill just dropped some serious truth bombs about Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen in a candid interview with The Telegraph. The former F1 champ didn’t hold back, suggesting the Dutch driver can be quite the complainer when things don’t go his way.
First things first – Hill wants to clear something up. Despite what many Dutch fans might think, he doesn’t hate Verstappen at all.
“I mean, what’s not to like about him? He’s sensational,” Hill admitted, calling the Red Bull star “brilliant.”
But that’s where the compliments end.
Hill believes Red Bull has completely failed in its responsibility to keep their star driver in check when he crosses the line.
“I think Red Bull have a responsibility, their team management has a responsibility, to the sport,” he explained.
The 1996 world champion thinks the team has essentially given Verstappen a free pass to do whatever he wants on track.
“They have almost given Max carte blanche and protected their driver from not sticking to the code, if you like.”
Hill pointed to specific racing tactics that bother him about Verstappen’s driving style.
“[Last year] Max correctly interpreted to his advantage the rule about overtaking and being ahead at the apex on the inside. There’s nothing in the rules that says you can’t do that. And it’s exciting to see people dive down the inside,” he acknowledged.
“Except that no other driver does it.”
And here’s where Hill really didn’t mince words: “And if someone was to do it to him, he’d cry like a baby.”
This double standard is what really gets under Hill’s skin.
“Red Bull simply can’t accept that. No, it really is slightly disappointing, to say the least, that they like to be thought of as the hard kids on the block, but when something doesn’t go their way, they cry about it.”
Hill also took a moment to defend himself and his Sky Sports colleagues against accusations of anti-Dutch bias.
“What I don’t like is jingoism. And I don’t like the fact that it became a ‘You’re against us because we’re not British’ and all that nonsense, which was used as a way of pressuring us. It’s utterly unfair to suggest that there is any kind of anti-Dutch thing going on.”
