Lewis Hamilton reflected on his tussle with Max Verstappen in F1 British GP and the past, where he noted the Dutchman to be aggressive but still a solid driver.
It seems like the F1 British GP tussle brought a new dimension in the fight between Mercedes’ Hamilton and Red Bull’s Verstappen, with their first-ever collision with such dramatic result and that too in a year when the two are at logger-heads for the title.
The British GP collision happened at a fast corner, which resulted in Verstappen flying off into the barrier with a 51G impact. He required a hospital visit, as Red Bull described the subsequent win of Hamilton a ‘hallow’ one, considering the situation.
Hamilton, though, was mindful of the situation after the race. With the collision, the Brit reckoned it is about learning from it and trying to avoid. He reiterated his past comments about Verstappen, where he has often stated that the Dutchman is an aggressive driver.
He is not saying that he is not a good driver, but a bit aggressive, which could be counter-productive, specially when fighting for the F1 title. He even took his example at younger age, but noted that he was probably a little aggressive than Verstappen.
“I would like to think that we should generally grow and learn from these experiences,” said Hamilton. “There’s rarely an incident that’s 100% someone’s fault. It’s always a mixture because there are two people – or more obviously – so I think there’s things that we can both learn.
“I would say that Max is probably one of the most aggressive drivers here – just from my personal opinion – he does a great job of course – but I think we have to really try to find the best balance we can on track with space and respect between one another so that we can continue racing and have good races without colliding.
“I think it’s a normal battle. When I was younger, of course, I was probably as aggressive – maybe actually not as aggressive as Max is, but I was pretty aggressive as a youngster – and I think now, I’m a lot older now and I know it’s a marathon not a sprint and so I think I have a better view in how I approach my racing.
“But we’re in a battle and I think this year he has been very aggressive and most of the times I’ve had to concede and just avoid incident with him and live to fight on later on in the race. As you saw in Sprint Qualifying, once he’s out in the clear, they’re too fast so when an opportunity comes, I’ve got to try and take it.
“That’s what we’re out there doing, and racing, and this one moment, I got a great exit out of Turn 7 and I was really happy with the dummy that I was able to go to the left and then go to the inside and get up that gap. Fortunately he wasn’t able to close it. But unfortunately the aggression stayed from his side and we collided. It’s unfortunate but these things happen,” summed up Hamilton.
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