Hill hits back at Verstappen: 'All these rules are because of Max's behaviour'

"I think that he's using fear and intimidation. He also has explained a little bit more about his tactics which has been that he regards it as a gamble. Sometimes it may pay off, sometimes he may get the better of the stewards, they might not apply a penalty. He's also using it as a way of compromising the title contender Lando Norris. So there is some logic, there's some method to his angriness. He says he knows what he's doing, but is it right and fair," said Damon Hill to Sky Sports ahead of free practice in Brazil.

"I think I'm clear about what I understand Max to be. He's been consistent from the moment he arrived in Formula 1. He was using what was regarded as dangerous tactics, and regulations have been brought in to clear up some of the things that he himself has brought upon himself because of the way he drives. The FIA bring in regulations, obviously, to try and contain it, because they don't want racing like that," he added.

Hill is fed up with Verstappen's dangerous behaviour

"They don't want dangerous situations as well such as changing the line under a braking area and stuff like that which is what he used to get up to as well. So they added regulations to cover that. When he makes the point about individuals, it's not individuals. It's almost universal disapproval."

"That's the point. It's not a vendetta against Max. It's simply the people who watch the racing want it to be conducted in a reasonable and fair way. If everybody was doing this, it would be daft, it would be silly, and it wouldn't be worth watching. We like close racing. We are in Sao Paulo, this is where it all started a little bit in 2021, with him running deep into turn four. And everyone went, hang on a minute, you can't just run the guy clean off the road to defend, and he's still doing it," Hill concluded his account.

Verstappen himself did not mind all the criticism. During the press conference, Verstappen said that he knows what he is doing and does not care about individuals like Damon Hill. ''I am a three-time world champion. I think I know what I am doing,'' Verstappen stated.

Hill had commented on Max on Sky Sports after the Mexico Grand Prix, to which the Dutchman then had to respond. Then Hill stated: "I think, especially the second move that he did, that was just daft. It looked like Lando was giving him the opportunity to take the place back, but he just simply accelerated to the apex, drove through and drove Lando off the track, and he didn't have any option. That was just silly driving, and Max let himself down there."

This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton