REVVED UP FOR A RUMBLE
Feisty Hamilton ready to take it to the Max
IF MAX Verstappen was under any illusion about how hard Lewis Hamilton will fight for this season’s drivers’ championship – he has his answer.
There has been plenty of talk about how Hamilton has changed as a driver, more controlled, barely puts a foot wrong, looks after the tyres – easy traits to demonstrate when your Mercedes is the class of the field.
Not so this season, with Verstappen’s Red Bull the car to beat.
It is hard to disagree with the conclusion drawn by Red Bull team principal Christian Horner that Hamilton’s opening-lap charge at Sunday’s British Grand Prix, which resulted in Verstappen being shunted into the tyre barriers at 180mph, was borne out of desperation.
The stewards hit Hamilton with a 10-second penalty but plenty of pundits deemed it a racing incident.
What is clear is that Hamilton is not prepared to roll over and have his tummy tickled like his dog Roscoe, a fact demonstrated by the manner in which he stormed to victory.
Red Bull were left fuming at what they deemed dangerous tactics but surely they cannot deny Hamilton is correct in his assessment he is dealing with an equally aggressive rival?
It is an opinion shared by every other driver in the paddock and is a quality, combined with his prodigious speed, that makes Verstappen such a formidable competitor.
Think back to the days of Ayrton Senna in his pomp and how other drivers, when they saw the Mclaren looming large in their mirrors, would opt for discretion being the better part of valour, knowing if it came to a tussle the Brazilian would not give an inch.
Verstappen is building a similar ontrack presence but it won’t work on a seven-time world champion who has already taken on the best – Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg, to name but a few – and won.
Listen to the language he used after the race, once he had learned that the Dutchman’s trip to the hospital was a precautionary measure.
“I enjoy racing with him,” he said. “But I would never back down from anyone and I would not be bullied into being less aggressive.
“We needed the points, there was a gap, he left a gap and I went for it. I will always race hard but always fairly.”
The two drivers have great respect for each other but post-race Verstappen questioned Hamilton’s sportsmanship, suggesting such high regard has already started to wane.
Hamilton was prepared to see his childhood friendship with Rosberg thrown on the scrapheap as a consequence of their fight for supremacy at Mercedes and, as has been proved time and time again, such mutual admiration is difficult to maintain as the title pressure mounts.
And the events at Silverstone marked the point where the battle lines between Hamilton and Verstappen were well and truly drawn.