Max Verstappen fans think he’s entering his ‘villain era’ after hearing one answer from his Spanish Grand Prix interview

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It was an eventful race for Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen who recorded his worst result of the season at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen initially crossed the line in fifth after a late safety car ruined his three-stop strategy.

Red Bull were attempting to find a way to beat McLaren after their drivers locked out the front row in qualifying.

Verstappen was on course to finish third after the last round of stops before Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes broke down and while every driver around him put on a final set of soft tyres, the Dutchman was forced onto some brand-new hards.

Charles Leclerc found a way past Verstappen on the run down to the first corner before George Russell made contact with the Red Bull driver at the chicane.

Verstappen was then asked to give the place back by Gianpiero Lambiase and this led to another collision with Russell.

The stewards handed the 27-year-old a 10-second penalty as a result, dropping him down to 10th and putting him 49 points behind race winner and championship leader Oscar Piastri.

He wasn’t happy after the race and one answer he gave in a post-race interview triggered an interesting reaction from his fans.

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Max Verstappen not interested in speaking about George Russell incident after the Spanish Grand Prix

Verstappen was asked by Sky Sports F1 reporter Rachel Brookes if the contact with Russell at turn five was intentional to which he replied: “Does it matter.”

When Brookes explained that it would to people watching, he continued: “Yep, OK, that’s great. I mean, I prefer to speak about the race than just one single moment.”

It was then put to Verstappen that his penalty pushed him down to P10 which would impact his title hopes, to which he responded: “If there [are] any, I mean, we’re way too slow anyway to fight for the title. I think that was clear again today.

“We tried to do a three-stop, and I thought it was quite good, quite racy, but we also needed it because we had actually quite a bit of degradation on the tyres.”

At the end of the interview, Brookes listed off several frustrations Verstappen had on the radio but also the brilliance he’s capable of such as his move on Piastri at Imola.

She said that it was ‘horrible to see that shine taken off,’ to which Verstappen asked: “Is it?”

Brookes continued: “I think so, for kids watching, I think so.” Verstappen ended the interview by saying, “OK, that’s your opinion, we’ll leave it there.”

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Max Verstappen fans react to Spanish Grand Prix interview exchange

There was a mixed reaction from the four-time world champion’s fans when they watched his interview, with one comment stating: “Max’s villain arc is just beginning.”

“They actually think brother cares about the people at home,” another person said, while someone simply described Verstappen as “King,” following the interview.

Another fan suggested: “He literally cannot handle adversity at all [and] turns into a child,” while one person reacted and said: “What a lunatic…”

Another message to the four-time world champion simply read: “Maxie… This one single moment is rather important. So if you hit him on purpose, admit it. If you didn’t, say so”

Red Bull tyre strategy questioned by Max Verstappen in catch-22 situation

When the safety car came out, Verstappen could either follow both McLaren drivers into the pits or stay out for the final part of the race on used soft tyres.

Instead, Red Bull brought him in but without any soft tyres left to use, he was stuck with a set of the hard compound which was no match for what his rivals had at their disposal.

“We have to look at it again,” Verstappen continued when asked about the team’s decision to pit him onto the hard tyres.

“New tyres, or at least fresh tyres, they do make quite a bit of a difference as well.

“No one really expected that the hard tyre was so poor, but yeah, when there are only six laps, maybe it would have been better to stay out, yes.

“But that’s of course a bit easier to say right now.”