Is Verstappen at his least aggressive in F1 2023?

“It’s too early to say. If we get into next year and they're dominating again, then, yes."

The above was the start of Lewis Hamilton’s reply when asked if he, and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, sat in the same room, believed Formula 1 was now in the ‘Max Verstappen era’.

The Dutchman split the pair in the post-race press conference at Austin – his victory ahead of Hamilton having sealed Red Bull’s 2022 constructors’ championship victory, one event on from Verstappen clinching his second successive drivers’ crown.

Based on the evidence of 2023 so far and with the weight of Hamilton’s words – carefully chosen, seemingly uttered with an air of frustration but not bitterness based on the atmosphere in the room – it can be said that F1 is now firmly into the Verstappen age.

He has five wins from the opening seven rounds this term and has clearly seen off team-mate Sergio Perez’s faint hopes of making a 2023 title fight, with Verstappen’s points lead already at 53.

Based on Red Bull team boss Christian Horner’s statement about Perez that “in many respects that [points gap] will take pressure off his shoulders, and will allow him just to now relax, not put pressure on himself and just refind the form that he had”, the logical inference is that Perez found battling Verstappen with a title in mind too challenging.

F1 is now heading to this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, where Red Bull can secure its 100th victory in the category. A fine achievement from a relatively young team.

That will be the main takeaway should Verstappen and Perez continue their march towards a clean sweep that looks increasingly likely after Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso squandered a chance to snare an unlikely victory in the late Monaco rain.

Verstappen has five wins from the opening seven rounds this term

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

There will be a secondary focus in the chase behind. Namely, looking at whether Mercedes can repeat its Barcelona form and head Aston and Ferrari again in the Red Bull wake. Or even if it can put any pressure on the dominant squad at a track where Hamilton is superb.

If Mercedes can make good on its promise from last time out over the rest of this campaign, that will raise hopes of a renewed title battle coming in 2024. F1 wants, and really needs, a repeat of the fireworks it got the last time the Black Arrows and Red Bull battled things out in 2021.

Ferrari started the new era so well but has regressed to the point where its brilliant Le Mans victory (with the late pre-race Balance of Performance change of course withstanding as a potentially pivotal factor in Toyota’s defeat) is being amusingly referenced against the inadequacies of its F1 division.

But if Mercedes can’t supply a title fight and Aston cannot make further progress towards the front, F1 is left with the reality that the Verstappen era may well last until the next rules reset in 2026.

F1 wants, and really needs, a repeat of the fireworks it got the last time the Black Arrows and Red Bull battled things out in 2021

Should that come to pass – and it’s by no means a given the 2026 changes will cap his run at five years as F1’s leading star – we’re already approaching the halfway point. This serves as a handy moment to assess Verstappen’s run so far.

Back in the 10 March 2022 issue of Autosport magazine, we wondered what type of world champion the now 25-year-old would prove to be. We considered his approaches to leadership, wielding power, addressing grievances and ability to address weaknesses, as well as his hunger for more success.

Off-track, we can see now that Verstappen occasionally exercises his considerable power ruthlessly – such as enacting a ban on Sky Sports following actually rather innocuous comments regarding Hamilton’s feelings on the 2021 title outcome from reporter Ted Kravitz. He followed that up with his refusal to comply with team orders to help Perez in the 2022 Brazilian GP.

Verstappen's reaction to George Russell’s minor contact in the Baku sprint race was rather unworthy of a world champion

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Most recently, with the caveat of adrenaline and unexpected camera closeness considered, his reaction to George Russell’s minor contact in the Baku sprint race was rather unworthy of a world champion, commanding the attention of many young and impressionable fans.

This is balanced against a remarkable forthrightness on important issues that capture Verstappen’s attentions as with the rest of the F1 paddock and the fans watching on.

An example of this is his reaction to the new sprint format tweaks for 2023, where his comments chimed with many – including this writer – that F1’s weekend format is already special and working, if demanding.

On-track, things naturally take on a different focus as that’s where the real excitement lies. And Verstappen’s driving is back in the spotlight following two recent developments.

Chronologically, these are: Russell saying the following to Autosport in Spain, and then Verstappen’s move on Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz at the Barcelona race’s first corner three days later.

“Max is probably less aggressive than he’s ever been in the past because he’s in not in a position that he needs to be aggressive,” Russell said in response to a question regarding Verstappen’s view – expressed at the end of 2022 – that he fights differently with Hamilton because he has a long history of racing against drivers of F1’s current younger generation.

“He can lose a position and know that he’ll get it back later down the line. Whereas we’re [Russell’s Mercedes squad and the rest] probably in a bit more of a ‘do or die’ position now to get that one chance of victory throughout a season.”

Verstappen’s actions in Barcelona evoked memories of his ‘do or die’ lunge against Hamilton two years previously

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

So, is that an accurate assessment?

It’s interesting that it came from Russell – as one of Verstappen’s peers the best-placed to comment given his (and their) experience of piloting machinery most of us can only dream of getting near. Plus, the Briton was on the receiving end of what was actually a pretty hypocritical reaction to aggressive driving from Verstappen in the Baku pits, given how the Red Bull ace went about engaging Hamilton in 2021.

Given how 2023 is so far different from the first two years of the Verstappen era, we can focus on Russell’s comment with races from this year alone in mind.

Based on how Verstappen came through the field so calmly in Miami and didn’t chop or chomp at either of the Mercedes drivers at the start in Melbourne – where actually Hamilton made a more belligerent move at the second braking zone – one can appreciate Russell’s view.

The RB19’s breathtaking baseline performance edge over the rest and its straightline speed prowess mean Verstappen can be confident of blasting by the opposition should he fall behind

The RB19’s breathtaking baseline performance edge over the rest and its straightline speed prowess mean Verstappen can be confident of blasting by the opposition should he fall behind.

But his actions at Turn 1 at Barcelona were very different. They evoked memories of Verstappen’s own ‘do or die’ lunge against Hamilton at the same spot two years previously. And of his aggressive defence against Mick Schumacher’s Haas at Silverstone last year.

Given that was over seventh place and that in Spain Sainz was always set to fall easy prey considering Ferrari’s ongoing tyre management fallibility, it all felt rather needless.

Verstappen also put up an aggressive defence against Mick Schumacher’s Haas at Silverstone last year

Photo by: James Sutton / Motorsport Images

Verstappen basically refused to answer why he’d gone to such lengths when Autosport asked in that post-race press conference. But such is his prerogative. And allied to this is the knowledge that Red Bull was so nervous about its tyre-degradation-limited race potential, it opted to start Verstappen on the mediums when those around him took softs.

Essentially, at a track where overtaking was previously very difficult even with a much quicker car – as Verstappen proved in his thrilling pre-restored-final-sector Barcelona battle with Russell in 2022 – Red Bull and its star couldn’t at that stage be confident of getting back by as easily as they had against Mercedes in Australia.

The Sainz move – very firm but fair – demonstrates, just as his actions did at Silverstone last year, that Verstappen still has his uber-aggression in his armoury to deploy as he sees fit, even with Red Bull’s current massive car advantage.

That’s hardly surprising given he has proved he’s just as hungry for more success even after reaching world champion and now F1 dominator status. This was also applicable in Jeddah and with regards to the fastest lap chase late on in Spain, Verstappen was even willing to again disregard pitwall calls.

Now, to make things interesting over the long-haul once again, F1 just needs his competition to step up and to push him into use of his much-discussed aggressive tactics as thrillingly – although ideally not as controversially – as in 2021 for the rest of the Verstappen era.

Verstappen has proved he’s as hungry as ever for more success, even after reaching world champion and now F1 dominator status

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images