Ebel: "It's not every day we get to see Verstappen kick a tyre"

"He did everything right in this race, he just had to drive the thing home. And then, all of a sudden, the car breaks away, you're off into the wall, off! Of course you lose your composure. It's not every day that we see Max Verstappen kicking a tire, " said Ebel, reporter for German RTL, in conversation with Sport1's AvD Motor & Sport magazine .

Understanding for frustrations Verstappen

The Dutchman was hard on his way to victory and had increased his lead in the World Championship over Lewis Hamilton by eleven points. "Verstappen knew exactly what a good car he had. Then when the chance to win presents itself and Mercedes weakens at the same time, and all that vanishes into thin air, that's quite bitter."

Especially in his early years in Formula 1 , Verstappen was known as an 'arrogant' driver. Ebel has been around the paddock for years, but he hasn't felt that way himself. "For me, Max is more accessible. We know each other privately. I am friends with his manager and know his father well. Max has a self-image of beating everyone. If you ask him who his preferred teammate should be, he says : 'I don't care, I'll beat anyone anyway'. But that's not arrogance, it's an expression of a lot of self-confidence."

Verstappen and Hamilton differ from each other

Lewis Hamilton is currently on seven world titles, but Ebel believes a couple of those World Championships were easily earned. "Now Hamilton has an opponent on a par, Max Verstappen. The fact that they're so different in character just makes it more tingling for me as well. In terms of car performance, Red Bull Racing-Honda is ahead at the moment," said the German journalist.