LEW GIVES IT SOME WELLY
Hamilton rejects talk of pressure
LEWIS HAMILTON has dismissed the idea he is starting to crack under the pressure of Max Verstappen’s title charge.
The seven-time world champion is one more crown away from being the most successful Formula One racer of all time.
But his bid is under scrutiny thanks to his Mercedes being pushed to the limit by Red Bull’s Verstappen, who has two wins in the first six races to Hamilton’s three. However, the Dutchman also has three second-placed finishes and leads the championship by four points over the Brit.
Verstappen crashed out in Baku two weeks ago with a high-speed puncture while on course for a win, only for Hamilton to make a mistake and run off the road two laps from home when he had a chance to move 21 points clear.
Former Ferrari and McLaren driver, Gerhard Berger, suggested the heat is being turned up on Hamilton.
Ahead of Sunday’s French Grand Prix, Hamilton said of his mishap in Azerbaijan: “Max was not in the race at the time so I definitely wasn’t under pressure from him.
“I don’t feel any pressure, I feel pretty relaxed and you cannot always be perfect. A mistake is often when you drive off the track after missing your braking point or hitting the wall. It was an unforced error in Baku that could have happened at any point but it hit us hard. I don’t count it as a mistake.”
F1 managing director Ross Brawn says he does not want Hamilton and Verstappen’s championship battle to be settled by a sprint race. The groundbreaking concept, roughly a third-distance of a grand prix, will be trialled at three rounds this season, starting at Silverstone on July 17.
The top-three drivers will be awarded points – three for first, two for second and one for third – and the result will determine the grid for Sunday’s main event. Qualifying will move to Friday.
Monza will host the second sprint race at September’s Italian Grand
Prix. Interlagos in Brazil could stage the final sprint round in November, Covid -allowing.
“We want to avoid the title being decided on a Saturday,” said Brawn.
“Going to the last race and a driver potentially taking the championship on Saturday by winning the sprint event could bring an added dimension, but it is one we are trying to avoid.
“We want to pick an event ideally a few races before the end of the season and a track where racing can take place in a short format with overtaking opportunities and tyre degradation, too, but we don’t want to do it at the last race.”