Daniel Ricciardo Hails Max Verstappen’s Tight-Lipped Approach to Lewis Hamilton’s Shrewd Tactics as Mercedes Plot Comeback

If looks could kill, Max Verstappen’s RB19 won’t make it to Austria after the way Lewis Hamilton was inspecting it before heading up to the cool-down room after the Canadian GP. The Mercedes driver finished third, 14 seconds behind race-winner Verstappen—the Brackley team closer to Red Bull than it’s ever been this season. But that didn’t stop Detective Hamilton from continuing his investigation after coming face-to-face with Verstappen.

F1 started broadcasting the happenings inside the cool-down room that the podium sitters go to after races this season. The conversations viewers get to listen to are pure gold; sometimes, they have an ulterior motive behind them. And that seemed to be the case after the Canadian GP before Hamilton and Verstappen were joined by Alonso in the room.

Lewis Hamilton tried to take advantage of a vulnerable Verstappen

F1 races are tiring. Drivers exert themselves so much that they lose around three kilograms in every race. And podium-sitters are required to attend the trophy presentation ceremony before they can get to their recovery. So when they’re in the cool-down room, they are at their most vulnerable. But vulnerable, how?

F1 is all about getting to know your competitors and finding a way to beat them. And right now, Red Bull is everyone’s benchmark, and Mercedes and Aston Martin are the closest to it. Even though Mercedes has taken a step forward in the past two races, it still has a long way to go to catch up to Red Bull. But Lewis Hamilton saw an opportunity (a dehydrated Verstappen) to get to know Red Bull better and took it.

He asked him questions about the RB19 bouncing and its tire degradation situation, but the Dutchman remained tight-lipped and answered in the vaguest possible ways. But Daniel Ricciardo, who was commentating on a watch-along, quickly picked up on what Hamilton was doing. He said, as quoted by mirror.co.uk, “I see it as Lewis has gone up to him thinking he’s vulnerable and might let his guard down and try and get some information about the car and give it back to the team. But Max wasn’t giving him too much.”

Read More: Lewis Hamilton Slapped With Humbling Reality Check After Loss of Status Triggers List of Demands to Mercedes 

While Hamilton wasn’t too successful in prying out information from Verstappen, he successfully fulfilled a promise he made after qualifying on Saturday.

Lewis Hamilton promised to give Alonso “hell”

After qualifying in P4 behind Fernando Alonso, Hamilton vowed to give him “hell” during the race. And he stuck to his word. Post-qualifying, Nico Hulkenberg, who qualified P2, received a grid penalty because of which Alonso started alongside Verstappen, with Hamilton behind him. At the race start, Hamilton passed him into Turn 1, and from there on, it was a dogfight between the two for P2.

But on Lap 22, he retook his P2 but had Hamilton hot on his heels throughout the race. It was an intense fight throughout the race, so much so that Alonso said in his post-race interview that fighting Hamilton was like 70 laps of qualifying around Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Watch This Story: We Crush Them: Fernando Alonso Warns Lewis Hamilton & Mercedes Signalling Aston Martin Comeback 

With Mercedes’ upgrades in Spain and Aston Martin’s in Canada, they’re both taking steps forward. Who will come out on top next time at the Austrian GP in two weeks?