According to former Formula 1 driver Marc Surer, Verstappen’s new Red Bull team-mate, Liam Lawson, also falls into the “bad guy” category.
Verstappen clinched his fourth successive Drivers’ Championship title last season, the Dutchman seeing off a challenge from Norris in a campaign in which the Red Bull driver and his McLaren rival clashed on the track.
Notable incidents at the Red Bull Ring, the Circuit of the Americas and again in Mexico split public opinion with former F1 drivers Martin Brundle and Damon Hill calling out Verstappen’s antics.
While Brundle told Sky F1 that this sporting attitude will taint Verstappen’s “legacy and that’s a shame”, Hill said he’s “not sure” Verstappen is capable of racing fairly.
“It is not in his repertoire, it is not in his philosophy. His philosophy is you are not coming past,” he added.
But Verstappen being the “bad guy” in the Formula 1 story is a good thing for the sport.
“Yes, and that’s a good thing. You need a bad guy in Formula 1,” former F1 driver Surer said on the Formula1.de YouTube channel. “There has always been one. And now we have another one.
“As I said, you need that in Formula 1.
“We have Lando Norris as the good guy, Russell as perhaps the schemer, and then Max Verstappen, who sometimes overshoots the mark. So I think that’s great.”
However, the Dutchman won’t the only bad boy on the grid in the F1 2025 championship, in fact he won’t even be the only one racing for Red Bull.
“Liam Lawson has already outed himself as a bad guy because he drove into the car against his own team, i.e. against Red Bull, which is practically the same team, in Mexico,” he claimed.
“So that shows that he doesn’t shy away from anything. That’s another bad guy from the boys.”
Lawson earned Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko’s ire at the Mexican Grand Prix when he clashed with Sergio Perez as the two raced for position, and a 2025 Red Bull race seat.
The Kiwi and Perez came to blows on lap 19 when Perez tried to muscle his way through only for Lawson to keep his foot flat. They collided with Perez’s RB20 suffering floor damage.
Lawson showed Perez the middle finger.
He later apologised to the driver and the team, telling the media including PlanetF1.com: “It’s obviously one of those in the moment things. He spent half the lap blocking me, trying to ruin my race, so I was upset.
“But it’s not an excuse. I shouldn’t have done it, and I apologise for that.
“I don’t think that’s what Helmut likes. It’s not my character, not something you should be doing.”
Lawson has since been announced as Verstappen’s team-mate for the F1 2025 championship, the 22-year-old replacing the ousted Perez.
