Max Verstappen hailed for “old-style fighting and driving” despite closing on F1 race ban

Former Formula 1 driver Riccardo Patrese has praised Max Verstappen for his old-style fighting and driving” despite the Dutchman nearing a race ban due to his involvement in various on-track incidents.

Verstappen has established himself as one of the standout drivers of his generation, with his 2024 title success drawing him level with Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel on four world championships.

However, the Red Bull star has also attracted criticism for his combative approach, with both rivals and pundits accusing him of being overly aggressive during wheel-to-wheel battles.

His latest controversy came after a collision with Mercedes rival George Russell, for which he received three penalty points, taking his total to 11.

He must get through this weekend’s Austrian GP without getting into trouble in order to avoid a ban for the following race in Britain.

However, former Williams, Brabham and Benetton driver Patrese believes Verstappen’s approach to F1 reminds him of his own time in F1.

“I think that for him it's not a problem,” the 71-year-old told Listofsweepstakescasinos.com.

“He doesn't like it because he probably also has a penalty that he didn't agree to have. And if it happens that he loses the license, for sure he goes in his boat and relaxes for two weeks to wait for the next grand prix. I don't think it's a drama for him, for sure.

“At the moment he is the only driver that makes old-style fighting and driving as it was in my time. I like this because sometimes he fights as he should be. And also he doesn't like to keep his mouth closed. At the moment everybody wants to close the mouths of the drivers. You cannot say your opinion anymore.

“I don't like this much because if you say something a little bit different then you get penalties and even you have to go and work in the social media.

“So at the end, I like Verstappen because he's the only one that now is over all this situation, that there are a lot of rules, a lot of penalties, you cannot talk and so on. Probably because it feels very strong because he's a four-time world champion.

“So at the end, he says what he wants and he does what he wants and he may be fighting, he loses the license, I think for him it's not a drama. He wins one race and then he comes back and maybe he wins the next race.

“Formula 1 now is quite different from the time I was. All the sport has changed. Life has changed. The philosophy now of Formula 1 is a bit different to the philosophy we had in the 70s, 80s, 90s too.

“If I have a choice I like more what I did in my career with that atmosphere, with that kind of racing that was more genuine, more instinctive. Not many rules from outside that at the moment really, maybe sometimes it’s difficult to understand from my time at least.”

Having already slipped to third in the constructors’ championship last year, Red Bull has lost further ground to its rivals in 2025 amid its ongoing competitive slump.

And while both Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda have struggled to perform in the RB21 so far, Verstappen has clinched two race wins to strengthen his hold on third place in the drivers’ championship, behind only McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Patrese, who won six F1 races in a career spanning 1977-93, hailed Verstappen for his ability to extract the most out of a less-than-competitive package at Red Bull.

“I think that everybody has his personality,” he said. “I had the problem for my aggression at the beginning of the season, the Monza accident and all these stories from the senior drivers.

“When Verstappen came and he was really trying hard to get his place in front and he had a criticism about this, in that particular moment of his career when he wanted to be quick and win if possible, it reminds me of me and the criticisms I had at the beginning of my season.

“From there I cannot compare with Verstappen because he's already a big, big champion. He's one of those champions that I put in a super league where they can make the difference even if they don't have the winning car in their hands.”