F1 Champ Damon Hill Riaps Max Verstappen’s ‘Dick Dastardly’ Tactics

After the last two races in Austin and Mexico City, one of the hottest topics in Formula 1 has been the aggressive tactics used by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen against McLaren’s Lando Norris. Now, 1996 Formula 1 World Champion Damon Hill is giving his take on the recent incidents.

Verstappen and Norris are the two drivers with the most realistic chances of winning the drivers championship, with Verstappen trying to win his fourth straight.

At Circuit of the Americas a couple of weeks ago, the two battled with Norris ultimately getting forced off the track by what many considered to be an aggressive move from Verstappen. However, he was somewhat controversially given a penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

The next weekend in Mexico, the two scrapped again, only this time, it was Verstappen who wound up with a bunch of penalties. 

Former Formula 1 champion Damon Hill said Red Bull’s Max Verstappen’s ‘Dick Dastardly’ tactics in Mexico. (Getty Images)

Damon Hill Slams Verstappen’s ‘Dick Dastardly’ Driving

Now, ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix — which should deliver even more of this kind of action — Damon Hill gave his take on Max’s driving as of late.

“The area footage is very clear,” Hill said on a recent Sky Sports podcast, per the BBC. “He made no attempt to back off and make the corner and leave room for Lando. It was simply a case of you are not coming through.

“The second move was just daft and Dick Dastardly stuff. He accelerated to the apex and drove Lando off the track and Lando didn’t have much option. That was silly driving.”

Oh, c’mon; we don’t need to drag the works of Hanna-Barbera into this…

I’ve got to admit: it made me laugh that he called it “Dick Dastardly stuff.” 

Wacky Races is a bit before my time, but I’ve seen some episodes over the years and always enjoyed it. Also, one time I got my ass kicked in a casino by a Wacky Races slot machine. That was kind of embarrassing.

But what I liked about that comparison to Dick Dastardly (although, I don’t think Max has any kind of Muttley in his corner, unless you count Christian Horner) is that he’s not wrong.

Max is an unbelievable driver, but he will also drive harder and toe the line of decency more than any other driver when he comes under pressure.

I think people have forgotten that because he hasn’t really been under pressure since the end of the 2021 season. The stuff he’s doing with Lando now, he did with Lewis in 2021. 

Remember when Max and Lewis crashed out on the front chicane at Monza? I don’t think that’s too dissimilar from the incident Max and Lando had at Turn 3 in Austria or the way Verstappen refused to yield an inch at COTA or in Mexico City.

Now that he’s trying to maintain his lead in the standings in a car that on some weekends is only the third-best on the grid, Verstappen’s claws are coming out again.

It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of this season goes because it sure seems that at this point Verstappen’s biggest opponent might be his own aggression.