Verstappen has been unfairly demonized, claims Newey

Max Verstappen is not fully appreciated by outsiders and has been unfairly demonized by ‘nationalistic’ Formula 1 television coverage by Sky, reckons design legend Adrian Newey.

In a wide-ranging interview with Jake Humphrey’s popular High Performance podcast reflecting on his time at Red Bull, Newey offered some fascinating insights into Verstappen’s character.

He also opened up on some interesting reflections on the controversial 2021 championship where he suggested that the Dutchman’s antics at that year’s Brazilian Grand Prix were out of order.

In one section of the interview, he made reference to how he feels Verstappen has not been portrayed in the right way by television coverage – an element he also felt was true of the way Sebastian Vettel was treated when winning for Red Bull.

“From the outside, I’m not sure people fully appreciate and understand Max, just like they didn’t with Sebastian,” said Newey. “There’s this sort of demonization both of them suffered at times, which is very unfair.

“And maybe that’s also a little bit of the British media, if I’m honest. Sky have a huge influence around the world. Although viewing isn’t truly international, their coverage is quite nationalistic, dare I say, and that can have an influence.

“It’s this thing that now with journalism, typically… there is that trend to sort of either put people on a pedestal or knock them down.”

Newey says Verstappen consistently performs at a level that very few in F1 can match, but he admits that the pressures of that infamous 2021 championship battle with Lewis Hamilton did show signs of him potentially feeling the heat.

Asked if Verstappen had ever cracked under pressure, Newey said: “A little bit perhaps in his championship of ‘21 where the intensity, particularly after Silverstone, on track between Lewis and Max became so intense.

He added: “It’s always easier for the hunter than the hunted. And Max was starting, I think, to just feel a little bit of pressure from the hunted. Hence that he was, in reality, probably lucky not to get a penalty from his driving in Brazil.

“The Saudi [clash], where they had a bit of a ding-dong, that was a little bit more… I think that was not clear. But Max was probably a bit out of order in Brazil in truth, so I think he was feeling it a bit.”

Max…