Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft was full of praise for Red Bull driver Max Verstappen in a recent event, defending the latter’s aggressive driving style. The four-time F1 world champion caught a lot of flack in the latter half of the 2024 season when he defended against his title Lando Norris quite aggressively and pushed the limits of the regulations.
During the USA and Mexican Grand Prix, the two title protagonists acquired the same piece of tarmac and battled it out on track. However, on both occasions, the McLaren driver came out second as he was pushed off the track by the Dutchman.
Whilst many in the media criticized Max Verstappen for his overly aggressive defense, David Croft, in a recent Autosport International 2025 event, lauded the 27-year-old’s approach as he believed the driver was paid “to win” by Red Bull.
“The thing about Max is that he does what he does to win and to be a champion. And Red Bull are paying him to win and be a champion. So he’s doing what’s expected of him. I have no problem with that whatsoever,” he said.
“When he goes too far, you know, and when we saw Mexico, for instance, when the two penalties were landed there, then I’ve got a bit of a problem with it. Sometimes, when he’s on the team radio and he makes the odd comment, then I occasionally get a bit of a problem with that,” Croft added.
Max Verstappen was able to fend off the challenge from Lando Norris and retain his title for the third time but Red Bull lost its hold over the constructor’s championship to McLaren. They decided to replace Sergio Perez with Liam Lawson after the former’ poor 2024 campaign.
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Red Bull driver Liam Lawson claimed that he was “realistic” regarding his chances alongside Max Verstappen but insisted that he was not in the team “to lose”.
Speaking with Stuff, the Kiwi reflected via GP Blog:
“Obviously, I have to be realistic. And so realistically, I know going in, I’m going to a whole bunch of tracks I’ve never done before, and it’s my first full season. So I’m not expecting to go in there and fight with him for race wins instantly.”
“But obviously, I’m expecting to perform well, and do the drive that the team needs me to do. And I’m obviously not there to lose either, I’m only there for one reason. So it’s exciting,” he added.
Max Verstappen has not finished behind his teammate since the 2017 season when he was 32 points behind Daniel Ricciardo despite winning one more race than the Aussie.
