Croft: I have always liked Max Verstappen

The 2024 Formula 1 season produced one of the closest Championship battles of the turbo-hybrid era, but in the end it was Red Bull's Max Verstappen who claimed a fourth consecutive Drivers' Title ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris.

While the Dutchman claimed the crown with two rounds to spare in Las Vegas, the gap between him and Norris was tight for much of the year. Piloting an inferior Red Bull car, Verstappen resorted to an aggressive driving style to keep faster competitors behind him on numerous occasions.

Examples include contact with Norris at the Austrian Grand Prix which resulted in damage for both, and two time penalties for forcing Norris off the circuit and gaining an advantage off-track at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Several key figures in F1 have criticised Verstappen's aggression behind the wheel, with Grand Prix winner Juan Pablo Montoya saying the four-time World Champion "takes the piss" and steward Johnny Herbert claiming Verstappen has a "horrible mindset of taking a fellow racer off the track".

However, F1 commentator for Sky Sports F1, David Croft, has recently come to the defence of Verstappen's combative driving.

Speaking to media including GRANDPRIX247 at Autosport International 2025, Croft responded to comments on Verstappen's sometimes hostile nature in the driving seat. He said: "The thing about Max is that he does what he does to win and to be a champion. And Red Bull are paying him to win and be a champion.

"So he's doing what's expected of him. I have no problem with that whatsoever. When he goes too far, you know, and when we saw Mexico, for instance, when the two penalties were landed there, then I've got a bit of a problem with it. Sometimes, when he's on the team radio and he makes the odd comment, then I occasionally get a bit of a problem with that," stated Croft.

Croft continued by claiming that to be a Champion in a high-pressure sport like F1, a single-minded approach is almost a requirement: "I've always liked Max. I've liked him since he first drove in Japan, I think it was, in FP1, because he's got so much talent, and I appreciate talent.

"Michael Schumacher, we love Michael Schumacher. We love Lewis Hamilton. They're winners, they're champions. We love Sebastian Vettel. For all those years, winning four Titles as well. But he did what he had to do to win, and if his teammate got in the way of that and was collateral damage, as it were, then so be it, that didn't matter.

"He was a winner. And maybe we just have to appreciate that Max is a bit of a winner. And we should actually celebrate the fact that for four years, he's been at the top," concluded the Sky pundit.

We will see the first glimpse of his and Red Bull's standing during pre-season testing in Bahrain, which commences 26 February. Can Verstappen continue his domination into 2025?