Hill offers Verstappen praise after Red Bull ‘rot’ ends

Damon Hill has praised Max Verstappen for ending Red Bull’s “rot” after ending his 10-race winless streak in the São Paulo Grand Prix. 

The 1996 F1 world champion had been critical of the Dutchman after his controversial antics in Mexico City, where he insisted that Verstappen was using “fear” and “intimidation” to win the title.

There was none of that from the 27-year-old at Interlagos after recovering from 17th on the grid to win ahead of Esteban Ocon by 19 seconds. 

Verstappen was angry ahead of the race following an incident in qualifying, where he questioned the time it took for a red flag to be shown in Q2 after Lance Stroll crashed. 

He brushed his anger aside and dominated, in a drive that has moved him to the precipice of becoming a four-time world champion. 

Verstappen leads Lando Norris by 62 points, and with only 84 available, he can claim another F1 drivers’ title in Las Vegas, moving him alongside Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel on four. 

As explained by Hill, Verstappen has won his last two titles with relative ease, courtesy of his and Red Bull’s superiority. 

However, that has not been the case this season, with the Milton Keynes-based team enduring problems with its RB20, leading to an unwanted winless streak. 

That streak is now over, and that was visible by the huge Red Bull celebrations. 

“The last two years have been easy for him,” Hill said on Sky Sports F1. “And I say easy, obviously advisedly. 

“It’s never easy, he makes it look easy, but he’s had competition this year. He’s lost momentum, if you look at his performances, 10 races since he last won a race. 

“It’s a really barren spell for them [Red Bull]. Hence their joy, because they know that they’ve stopped the rot, they’ve stopped the slide, they’ve stopped the encroachment on the title by Lando and McLaren. 

“I think he can breathe much more easily.”