Verstappen stands out with statements: 'Pretty harsh'

Max Verstappen leads the world championship by a wide margin after nine races. According to Mika Hakkinen, this is not only because of the excellent performance of the RB18 but also because of the work of the Dutchman. He says on the YouTube channel of Unibet.

Verstappen had a difficult start to the season. He crashed out twice in the first three races, losing valuable championship points and falling well short of Charles Leclerc.

Verstappen let himself off the hook over the board radio on a number of occasions as a result, as Hakkinen also saw. "Some of his radio messages were pretty harsh. He didn't necessarily choose his words carefully. He just blurted out the urge for the team to fix the issues," said the former driver, who was impressed.

The analyst saw that Verstappen had the necessary experience and that the reigning world champion knew all too well what he was doing. For example, Verstappen is said to still have full confidence in the qualities of his team. "Max has kept his cool. He trusts the car and the team," Hakkinen said.