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How Honda makes Verstappen even more of a threat

Red Bull's new engine supplier may not have achieved much on track in the modern era, but it gives Max Verstappen the chance for something of a clean slate - and that's already making a big difference

Threats to headbutt people, shoving contests or a consistent defiance in the face of overwhelming reason are not particularly mature anecdotes. They may be the sort of thing that would hardly be unusual for an average 21-year-old, especially one under pressure, but a top-line Formula 1 driver is far from average. That means expectations are often abnormal, too.

Regardless of the offender, such 'character-building' misjudgments are hardly redeeming. Max Verstappen crashed too much at the start of 2018, plain and simple, but he did not cover himself in glory with his reactions to the constant external pressure his errors brought, either. Those reactions were not only from journalists with supposed grudges to bear. To revive the phrase he hated so much, plenty within the paddock talked of a need for Verstappen to 'change his approach' - even his team boss.