It was shades of Lewis Hamilton today in Singapore, as Max Verstappen, when asked about the time penalty handed to him at Monza following his clash with Valtteri Bottas, suggested that in the case of the stewards it was seemingly a question of 'is it because I is Max?'

Mounting a typically robust defence, the Dutch driver collided with Bottas at the first chicane as they battled for third, the subsequent time penalty dropping him to fifth, behind Sebastian Vettel who had spun on the first lap.

While some spent the break post-Monza launching their fashion lines, playing with their dogs or studying the situations vacant columns, Verstappen was watching re-runs of previous races at Monza.

"I was analysing other videos from the year before, because when you go back 10 - 15 years it is a bit irrelevant with rules and stuff, and the same happened exactly between Stroll and Massa," the youngster told reporters.

"Massa was very clever and didn't clip his wheel," he continued, "but stayed on the white line and took a little bit of the green run-off, but his tyre was still on the white line.

"Of course I always try to make it as difficult as possible for them to get by," he admitted. "And I will fight for every millimetre on track, which I did, so at the end I think it is very harsh.

"Also, looking back at what happened in Monza, other drivers just pushing each other off the track, damaging each other's cars, running into each other, and we didn't have any damage. He clipped my wheel and had to go wide. There was no damage and I think that is why it was very hard. You cannot change the decision, but I still think it was harsh.

"Of course I was going to the left but as long as you give him a car width space then it is fine," he insisted. "I think I gave him that. Of course it is on the millimetres, and if you go there, maybe it is a one millimetre that is enough or not enough, but that is how I race. On the millimetres... not metres.

"Of course I have to defend this hard because I am always down on power on the straight," he added. "If we have the top speed you will never be in this position. With the clipping we have, it is more than the others, so they suddenly arrive very quick and you have to be very aggressive in your defending.

"I could easily just say, let him go by and still have a great race and everybody says Max had an amazing race. But I am not there to finish fourth."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Spindoctor, 14/09/2018 13:07

"@*TestaRossa*
Yes, Lewis had a brief period of a few crashes, and learned the lesson. Max, not so much.
Max's problem appears to be that in his public utterances, at least, he is insufferably arrogant and self-righteous (i.e. all that dross about previous races etc.).

Given that lots of other drivers have even SLOWER cars than his Red Bull, and manage to cope, his justification for defending "aggressively" rings a bit hollow. Similarly his teammate seems to manage in nominally the same car without that aggression. That "Aggression" is all very well in a boxing match, but maybe a liability in a car doing close to 200mph?

The most important issue for me is his tendency to weave about, especially in the braking areas. Fighting for "every millimetre of the track" is OK except when someone else has a legitimate right to occupy it! When that happens, the most likely outcome is a crash and\or penalty.

He is quite talented, but being RBR's "golden boy" doesn't mean he has carte blanche to obey only those rules which suit him. We've all heard his complaints about other drivers, after all...."

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2. Posted by *TestaRossa*, 14/09/2018 8:47

"Funny first was Lewis the black sheep for years and now Max , i know in the old days was everything better . LOL.
But i am happy that finally Lewis is accepted as a great driver by the old guard . Max is in the waiting room."

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3. Posted by mickl, 14/09/2018 0:30

"Driver's these days make me all the sadder that Moss never won the championship."

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4. Posted by Egalitarian, 14/09/2018 0:27

"I agree with JClark - I was a massive fan of Senna (probably mesmerised by his raw talent and bravery), but looking back, some of his on-track behaviour was unacceptable. I don't know who said it (probably dozens of people), but a champion must champion the sport, not just accumulate the maximum points at any cost. I agree with your list (not so much Prost), but I would like to add (at least) Hakkinen to that list if I may. Two championships and a true champion of the sport."

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5. Posted by ESTM PRFT, 13/09/2018 20:39

"Unrepentant and repugnant to the core? Agree with @JClark-Monza1967 that there is a plethora of Champions that were not "dicks." The clock is ticking on Maximus..."

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6. Posted by JClark-Monza1967, 13/09/2018 19:14

">Verstappen has all the makings of a world champion... he is a dick. All the best ones are.

I beg to differ. Fangio, Clark, Stewart, Hill, Prost, Lauda, Brabham and Hamilton raced hard but they were not ruthless and they were not "dicks" ON THE TRACK and they didn't intentionally crash into other drivers. They raced with honor and they were greater drivers, champions and human beings for it. The "dicks" (ex. Senna, Schumacher, etc. were the exception but media exposure, etc. created the myth that you had to be a ruthless and dangerous "dick" to win. "

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7. Posted by klmn, 13/09/2018 18:20

"Max is right in 2011 Alonso pushed Vettel off the track in the high speed Curva Grande a very dangerous move and got no penalty . Yes Alonso in a Ferrari at Monza hmmm"

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8. Posted by elsiebc, 13/09/2018 17:48

"Verstappen has all the makings of a world champion... he is a dick. All the best ones are. They sometimes mellow a bit with maturity, once they've proven to the world what they already knew about themselves. They are all deserving.
"

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Verstappen: Is it because I is Max?

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