Max Verstappen has been accused of lacking fighting spirit as he bids to become a four-time F1 champion.

Verstappen has extended his winless run to seven grand prix, during which he has only finished on the podium twice, leaving him just 59 points clear of McLaren rival Lando Norris on 206 points in the standings.

The weekend’s Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix was almost Verstappen’s lowest point in two years as he finished seventh with two laps to go and was on track for his lowest finish since the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix.

A crash on the penultimate lap between team-mate Sergio Perez and Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz erased any chance of that statistic appearing in a year that quickly turned sour for the Red Bull driver after a dominant start that saw him win four of the first five races and seven of the opening 10.

At the Baku City circuit, Verstappen was even beaten by Perez for the first time in 33 races, finishing sixth to the Mexican’s fourth as he once again struggled with the balance of his car.

During the race, Verstappen complained about the RB20 “jumping”, that the brakes weren’t working at one stage, and then that there was “no grip at the back” because his tyres were failing.

Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 F1 champion, felt Verstappen was no longer the strong character he once was and that the slump was slowly catching up to him.

“Max, in the last few races, seemed very depressed, like he wasn’t even in the race anymore,” Villeneuve told Sky Sports F1.

“He wasn’t fighting as hard. Even on the radio, we barely heard him, so something had changed.

“It was like he knew he hadn’t won [for a while], he knew [the car] wasn’t going the way he wanted.

“His teammate was a lot quicker than him at that point. It was a very strange situation.”