F1 News
Coulthard stands up for Verstappen: 'Dislike clouds judgement on facts'
- Ludo van Denderen
David Coulthard has stood up for Max Verstappen. The Dutchman isn't always the most well-liked driver, as some fans cite negative character traits. The former Red Bull driver believes some of the facts are clouded because of their dislike.
Coulthard understands why there is so much hatred towards the Dutchman and does not understand at all why some downplay Max Verstappen's qualities. "But it amazes me that, just because someone maybe doesn’t like him as a person, therefore that clouds their judgment on the facts," he told Planet F1.
'Schumacher and Senna are controversial too'
"The facts are the guy is brilliant, he’s brilliantly fast. Yes, he’s controversial, but [Ayrton] Senna was controversial. Michael [Schumacher] was controversial," Coulthard said. "I’m not really sure there’s ever been an uncontroversial, very successful person in Formula 1, maybe if you go back to the 1960s and ’70s, when they literally were taking their lives in their hands. But as old as I am, I wasn’t around at that time, so I can’t make a judgment on it."
Coulthard praised Verstappen for his performance in Brazil: "So his drive in Brazil was a lesson to all the other drivers. It was on another level. So if somebody can’t acknowledge that and go, ‘That was brilliant’, then they have a problem. They have a prejudice problem, which is what causes so many problems in the world, doesn’t it?”
This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton