Max Verstappen: The controversies and triumphs of the Formula 1 superstar

Since his debut, the man affectionately dubbed ‘Mad Max’ has been smashing records one after another, and everything indicates that he will surpass the seven world title records of Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.

At the moment, he has four – all consecutively won between 2021 and 2024. Taking into account his current age of 27 and how easily he obtained his latest title, no one doubts that he will be able to catch up with the aforementioned legends.

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At 17 years and 164 days, Max was the youngest driver to race in Formula 1. It was at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix with Toro Rosso and curiously, alongside teammate Carlos Sáinz Jr.

Just weeks after his run in Australia, he would prove he was more than ready for the big league, and became the youngest driver to lead a race at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Later in the year also became the youngest to win a Grand Prix at 18 years and 225 days and the youngest to win the Grand Chelem (pole position, fastest lap, lead the entire race and victory.

Obviously, to become the best, there needs to be a strong competitive spirit and on occasions, this has gotten the better of him. Even with his closest allies, like Sergio Pérez, his partner at Red Bull, with whom he put the pressure on at the 2022 Brazilian GP.

Verstappen refused to give up sixth place to the Mexican, who was vying for runner-up. An angry Christian Horner, the team’s manager, reminded him on Sy Sports that “he is not above Red Bull. We work as a team and we run as a team.”

Later, also on Sky Sports, Checo Pérez also reminded Max Verstappen that “if he has two world championships it is thanks to me”.

But why did he do it? Everything indicates that “Mad Max” was replicating a similar stunt that Checo Pérez pulled at the 2022 Monaco GP. Max Verstappen is clearly not above holding grudges! 

One of his biggest controversies was the one that led him to win his first world title in 2021 in the last lap of the Abu Dhabi GP, against Lewis Hamilton who seemed destined to win. The Brit, however, ended up letting his eighth championship get away from him.

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The controversy started when Verstappen apparently overtook Hamilton despite there being a safety car on the track. Mercedes, Hamilton’s team, appealed this but pictures of the event appeared inconclusive and were deemed inadmissible, so the appeal did not carry.

In addition, Verstappen was also criticised for a manoeuvre he pulled, in which when he was almost parallel with Lewis Hamilton and swept the track to cut space for the Englishman. It was a controversial but wonderful end to the World Championship and an important moment for the young driver.

It was not the first time that the two champions had a run-in on the track either. In October 2021, at the United States Grand Prix, the English driver forced the Dutchman off his line after unexpected overtaking.

The problem? This was not in a race, but in a practice run. “Mad Max” responded over the radio by calling Lewis Hamilton a "stupid idiot" and later gave Hamilton the middle finger to confirm his dissatisfaction.

In October 2023, he cliched his third World Championship, becoming just the 11th driver to reach at least three titles.

And not only that, he also became the first driver to take three victories in one country during a single year, after winning all three grands prix in the USA in 2023. He also became took the record for the most races won in a season with 19, and the most consecutive race wins with 10.

In 2024, he backed it up once again and claimed his fourth World Championship, solidifying his status as one of the sport's greatest ever drivers. Throughout the season, he secured nine victories and achieved 14 podium finishes.

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But it wasn't all smooth sailing, and Mad Max found himself embroiled in a number of controversies.

One of the biggest was his row with FIA, which fined him almost $50,000 (£39,000/€46,700) for his use of "inappropriate language" at a press conference following the Singapore Grand Prix, as Formula 1 media reported. 

So furious with the treatment, Verstappen later threatened to retire from the sport early due to his issues with “censorship”, as Racing News 365 reported.

At the end of the season, Verstappen was involved in an intense feud with Mercedes' George Russell following a qualifying incident at the Qatar Grand Prix that led to Verstappen being penalized one place on the grid. This penalty cost him pole position and allowed Russell to take the top spot for the race.

The tension between the two drivers escalated after the Qatar Grand Prix, with Verstappen leaving the stewards' room visibly angry. He accused Russell of trying to "screw" him over and stated he had "lost all respect" for the Mercedes driver, as Planet F1 reported. 

The feud carried over into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Verstappen called Russell a "loser" and accused him of "lying," while Russell fired back, labeling the Dutchman a "bully" who had threatened to "put me on my f****** head in the wall."

It was a quite a note to end the 2024 season on, and sets the tone for an interesting 2025 season – one which will surely put Max Verstappen front and centre once again.

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