Max Verstappen accused of 'whinging' over claims of ‘passport bias’ by British press

Italian former racing driver Riccardo Patrese has accused current Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen of ‘whinging’ over the claims that he has faced ‘passport bias’ by the British press. Verstappen, who has been constantly at odds with British drivers, had made the sensational claim of biased reporting by the press in 2024.

The 27-year-old Verstappen competed against Briton Lewis Hamilton for the Formula 1 title in 2021 and faced a tough challenge from Bristol-born Lando Norris of  McLaren last year.

“Sometimes in racing situations, or battles, or certain penalties, and the way people look at success and how much credit they give you or not, I definitely feel that there is a bias,” Verstappen, who was born in Belgium but presents Netherlands, had said after winning the Brazilian Grand Prix last year.

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“The problem in F1 is that 80 to 85 per cent of the media is British. And I did feel that some things which were written about me were not fair. I am not going to sit here and single out one broadcaster, but I just had to laugh about what was said. I was like: ‘Whatever.’”

‘Verstappen is not crticised because of his passport’

Former Williams and Benetton driver Patrese, who won six races in F1, doesn’t agree with Verstappen’s claims. He added that champions like Verstappen often have a habit of complaining.

“I don’t agree with him,” he told Listofsweepstakescasinos.com. “[He is not criticised] because of his passport. If [James Hunt was] Dutch, I don’t think he gave any trouble during his career. I think the fact [is] that he’s special and opens the right doors at the right moment, and he could use all the opportunities he could have.

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“Sometimes with these rules, he doesn’t agree, but I don’t think it’s because he’s Dutch instead of English. Champions usually like whinging a little bit. I know very well it’s because I had Nigel [Mansell] in the team that he was winging all the time.”

Verstappen, however, has enjoyed the support of his former colleagues. Former Red Bull aerodynamics guru, Adrian Newey, has claimed that the media doesn’t fully understand the four-time champion and has tried to demonise him.

“I think from the outside, I’m not sure people fully appreciate and understand Max, just like they didn’t with Sebastian [Vettel],” Newey told the High Performance podcast. “First of all, there’s this sort of demonisation both of them suffered at times, which I think is very unfair, and maybe that’s also a little bit of the British media, if I’m honest.

“Sky have a huge influence around the world, their viewing is truly international, but their coverage is quite nationalistic, dare I say, and that can have an influence. It’s this thing that now with journalism, typically, there is that trend to sort of either put people on a pedestal or knock them down.”