Max Verstappen’s Champion Spirit Questioned by Jacques Villeneuve Amid Recent Struggles: ‘Something Has Changed

Max Verstappen's demeanor has been put under scrutiny by former Formula 1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who suggested that "something has changed" about the driver.

Jacques Villeneuve thinks that "something is different" with Max Verstappen, stating that Verstappen is "lacking his usual aggression" as his lead in the F1 championship continues to decrease.

The Red Bull racer faced a challenging competition in Baku, struggling with a poorly performing car and ultimately securing a fifth-place finish. Verstappen moved up two spots after a late collision between his teammate Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.

Lando Norris, who is competing with Verstappen for the championship, managed to pass the Dutch driver and secure fourth place after beginning the race in 15th position due to an unexpected elimination in the first qualifying round.

The outcome reduced Verstappen's lead in the championship to 59 points, making it the third race in a row where his points advantage in the title race has been diminished by Norris.

1997 Formula 1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has raised concerns about Max Verstappen during his recent difficulties.

"Max has seemed less enthusiastic in recent races. He doesn't appear as aggressive on the track and isn't putting up much of a fight," Villeneuve commented while appearing as a guest on Sky Sports F1.

"We hardly hear from him on the radio anymore. Something feels different. It's almost like he's aware that he hasn't been victorious lately, and he recognizes that the car isn't performing the way he desires."

"His colleague on the team was significantly faster than he was. It's quite an unusual circumstance."

The triple world champion regretted the adjustments made to the set-up before qualifying, as they negatively impacted his RB20's performance.

"We probably faced the consequences of the adjustments we implemented for qualifying, which made driving quite challenging," Verstappen mentioned to the press, including Crash.net.

"The vehicle was bouncing significantly, with the tires lifting off the road during turns. Without maintaining contact with the pavement, it becomes extremely challenging."

"We aimed to improve the car with our adjustments, but regrettably, our changes had the opposite effect."

"The general performance has improved with the new floor. However, we made some poor choices before qualifying, which ended up costing us."

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