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Max Verstappen

Is Zak Brown right to call Max Verstappen 'a bruiser'?

Is such criticism still applicable to Max Verstappen these days?

Verstappen Brown
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Red Bull's four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen has been labelled "a bruiser", "too aggressive", and 'arrogant'.

The criticism towards Verstappen has come from McLaren CEO Zak Brown in an interview with The Telegraph.

Brown was asked simply whether he felt Red Bull race dirty. Rather than his comments on the team as a whole, instead, Brown opted to point an accusing finger at Verstappen.

"I don’t want to disparage Max…. He’s a four-time world champion," said Brown. "He can be a bruiser, too aggressive on track. His arrogance comes out. 

"If you look at some of the greatest champions in Formula 1, they’ve had some arrogance about them. They get their elbows out."

Brown further added that "Max has crossed the line on track at times", notably pointing out the 2021 battle between the Dutchman and Lewis Hamilton, then with Mercedes, stating that "a handful of his passes on Lewis were overly aggressive".

But do Brown's words still ring true? Is Verstappen still "a bruiser" of a driver these days? Or are his overtakes more measured and mature, and the mark of an experienced driver, compared to the brash younger man of the past?

Have your say in the latest RacingNews365 poll, and leave us your comments on the subject below.

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