Former F1 champion complements McLaren boss for being the “sound of reason and respect” with his Max Verstappen comments

Damon Hill appreciated Andrea Stella for how the McLaren boss kept his calm and criticized Max Verstappen and Red Bull. Stella, in an interview, slammed the Dutchman and his team for his on-track ordeal, which jeopardized Lando Norris' race in Austria.

Austria hosted the 11th race of the 2024 season, where George Russell claimed a surprising victory after Verstappen and Norris took each other out from the race lead. Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz rounded off the podium places.

In Lap 64 of 71, Verstappen and Norris tangled with each other and damaged their tires. While Verstappen could come to the pit, change, and return to the race, Norris went home with a DNF.

"The entire population of the world would know who is responsible except for a group of people," Stella told Sky Sports, criticizing Verstappen's action. "We have so much respect for Red Bull and Max, they don't need to do this."

Hill, an expert in the sport and a former F1 champion, noticed the interview and shared his feedback. Reacting to Stella's statement, Hill wrote on X:

"Ah! I recognise that sound. It's the sound or reason and respect. Well done AS who echoed almost exactly what MB said. But we've been here before. Nothing will change. Some people just don't get it. Good race though! #f1."

Max Verstappen crossed the finish line in P5 after receiving a ten-second time penalty for causing the collision.

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McLaren's Andrea Stella believes Max Verstappen deserved harsher punishment

Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 leads Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren MCL38 Mercedes during the F1 Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring on June 30, 2024 in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Max Verstappen's on-track tussle with Lando Norris cost the Brit and his team plentiful points.

McLaren boss Andrea Stella believes that the FIA should have punished Verstappen more harshly in 2021 while he was in a season-long title battle with Lewis Hamilton.

"They have come back today because they were not addressed properly in the past when there was some fights with Lewis that needed to be punished in a harsher way," Stella said (via Motorsport.com)

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were involved in a series of on-track collisions where they went over the limit on multiple occasions and took each other out.