Max Verstappen: Prodigy Who Got The Rules Changed

We've witnessed countless debates about the application of FIA rules by Formula 1 stewards and the bias of the FIA, the governing body for Formula 1. We've also seen rules being bent and switched around for whatever reason by race stewards. One of the drivers involved in controversies around rules and regulations recently is Max Verstappen, the Dutch champion who's been driving for Red Bull Racing since the day he joined Formula 1.

Max Verstappen was signed into Formula 1 by Toro Rosso, the junior team of Red Bull Racing. He joined Toro Rosso in 2015, at just 16 years old. He debuted at 17 years old and became the youngest driver in F1 history. At the time, there were no rules surrounding age but after Max Verstappen quickly became a hot topic rules were changed.

Max Verstappen adapted to the series easily given the young age he started driving these Formula 1 cars, and became a World Champion in 2021. He won back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023 after the controversial 2021 season, and he's foreseen to be a 4-time champion by the end of the 2024 season.

This is a list of the rules that were changed because of Max Verstappen.

1 — As I mentioned, Max Verstappen started F1 racing at a very young age and this caused debates over an age limit. FIA introduced new Super Licence requirements because of this, which involved an age limit that required being at least 18 years old to participate in Formula 1.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the Italian wonderkid who Toto Wolff set eyes on, was only 17 years old when he was offered a contract to drive for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team. Due to this rule change, Antonelli had to wait and missed out on a potential early drive for Mercedes F1.

2 — Drivers are not allowed to swerve and switch directions as they're braking, this is because it could cause collisions with the aggressive and unpredicted nature of the movement. The rule was implemented after the 2016 Japanese Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen defended aggressively against Lewis Hamilton and caused the British driver to back down.

3 — A similar rule implementation to the moving under braking was the prohibition of dangerous defensive moves, such as making too many direction changes while defending and swerving on a straight road. Max Verstappen defended against Kimi Räikkonen by swerving in front of him at the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix, which led to safety concerns.

4 — At the 2017 United States Grand Prix, Verstappen passed Kimi Räikkonen by going off-track and exceeding track limits for the position. FIA responded to this by clarifying the rule which included the definition of track limits and the prohibition of off-track overtakes and advantages.

5 — After the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix, where Esteban Ocon and Max Verstappen had an unfortunate crash as Ocon was letting Verstappen pass under blue flags, Verstappen confronted Ocon and pushed him out of anger. This led to a rule change which strictly prohibited drivers from unsportsmanlike conduct.

6 — Now we will take a look at the rule changes that were implemented with the 2021 season, one of the most controversial seasons of Formula 1 with Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton's rivalry.
Verstappen overtook Hamilton during the formation lap of the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix to establish a sense of panic over Hamilton. The FIA clarified rules regarding formation lap conduct after this and stated that drivers must maintain their grid positions during the formation lap.

7 — Another rule change that occurred in 2021 is the clarification of rules around forcing drivers off-track. Verstappen defended against Hamilton in the 2021 Brazilian Grand Prix by pushing him off-track multiple times, and this led the FIA to clear up the rules around overtaking and defending. Drivers now have to leave at least one car's width of space if the overtaking car is close enough.

8 — After the qualifying session of the 2021 Brazilian Grand Prix, Verstappen touched Hamilton's rear wing under parc fermé conditions to inspect it. This raised concerns and drivers/team personnel were prohibited from touching other cars during parc fermé.

9 — At the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where tensions were high as it was one of the last races of the 2021 season and was highly important to clarify the champion of 2021, Verstappen braked suddenly in front of Hamilton as he attempted to let him pass, leading to a collision. Sudden deceleration, also known as 'brake testing' was prohibited if it was done in a condition where another driver got endangered.

10 — Max Verstappen who won the 2021 Styrian Grand Prix, did burnouts and drifted over the finish line to celebrate his victory and this was considered dangerous by the FIA, who later prohibited dangerous driving after the chequered flag.

11 — Verstappen, as I mentioned earlier, is a driver who loves psychological mind games. At the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final race of the 2021 season and one of the most controversial races of this era, Verstappen drove alongside Hamilton, his championship rival who he equaled championship points with under safety car conditions. The FIA reconsidered safety car restart procedures after this, enforcing a single line formation until green flags.

Although rule changes are natural and occur over time with the changing nature of drivers, I believe they should be reconsidered after or before a race, not during one. Stretching and bending of rules during a race almost always leads to controversy as is seen from the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where the lapped cars between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were allowed to overtake the duo and unlap themselves before the safety car restart, whereas the lapped cars between Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz were not allowed to overtake and unlap themselves.

There are examples of rule changes in racing series except Formula 1 too. In 2022, at the NASCAR Xfinity 500 Martinsville race, Ross Chastain drove the final corner faster than the other cars by positioning his car next to the wall and using the surface to conserve speed and climb to a race position which would end up in him qualifying successfully for the final spot of 'Championship 4'. Rules were changed after this race, prohibiting drivers from making dangerous moves and gaining an advantage over the others to unfairly gain race positions.