Formula 1: 3 Max Verstappen ‘weaknesses’ that can be exploited

Sometimes it’s tough to find the chink in the armor of an elite athlete, but Max Verstappen showed that he too is human during this past Formula 1 race weekend.

Two-time reigning Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen had somewhat of a weekend to forget at Baku City Circuit, as they only session in which he found himself on top was FP1.

He qualified third and finished third in Saturday’s standalone sprint race, with his result coming after his RB19 suffered significant contact from Mercedes’ George Russell, and he qualified second and finished second in Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with his chance at a win hampered by an ill-timed pit stop.

Since last April, it has been rare to see Verstappen anywhere other than P1. He entered Sunday’s 51-lap race around the 20-turn, 3.73-mile (6.003-kilometer) temporary Baku, Azerbaijan street circuit having won16 of the last 22 races. Yet he wasn’t his usual dominant self and finished behind teammate Sergio Perez in both the 17-lap sprint race and in the main event.

One lackluster weekend is no reason for Max Verstappen to lose his status as the Formula 1 world championship favorite.

However, it did highlight three key weaknesses which others can position themselves to exploit.  It’s not often that the 25-year-old Dutchman gives anybody the opportunity to the exploit them, but this past weekend was one of those times.

Here are those three weaknesses.