1978 F1 world champion Mario Andretti has stated the added pressure on Max Verstappen's shoulders this year has resulted in “mistakes”.
Verstappen enjoyed a relatively unchallenged route to his second and third F1 titles in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
The Dutchman was under pressure this year when Red Bull went through a dip in form and endured a 10-race winless stretch, allowing Lando Norris to close the gap to Verstappen in the standings.
It led to aggressive tactics being deployed by Verstappen in the USA and Mexico when going wheel-to-wheel with Norris.
For the latter race, Verstappen was issued a duo of 10-second time penalties for forcing Norris off the track on two occasions.
Andretti highlighted the influence of a tighter title battle has altered Verstappen from his calmer nature in recent seasons.
“I see a Verstappen who is a bit ‘upset’ by the dynamics of the season and the situation at Red Bull,” Andretti told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“He's in a very different position than he was last year and also at the beginning of 2024, so he's suddenly found himself having to pull performance out of the car that's not there.
“When you no longer have a dominant car and you have to fight with an effort beyond what you have at your disposal, then mistakes happen.
“Sometimes it's right to penalise and sometimes it's not, but you have to give clear rules so that you don't change the yardstick every time.”
Verstappen is currently 62 points ahead of Norris following a dominant drive to victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
McLaren is looking to secure its first constructors' title since 1998 and leads Ferrari by 36 points ahead of the final three rounds of the year.
Although it looks likely to fall short of the drivers' championship, Andretti suggested it will take the team time to adjust to being a consistent front-runner in F1.
“The car to win is there, but I think they did not expect to be able to compete for the championship so soon,” he said.
“When a team doesn't play for the title for so many years then it needs time to get back into contention with the top teams.
“The same applies to the drivers: Norris and Oscar Piastri are two extremely fast and competitive youngsters, but they have never before been in the position they are in today.
“Perhaps not everything went as they would have liked this year, but they have a beautiful future ahead of them.”
