Lewis Hamilton ‘Clever’ to get out Max Verstappen’s Way in France: Marko

Max Verstappen came from behind to win the French Grand Prix. The Dutch driver started from the pole but lost the lead to Lewis Hamilton when he ran wide at Turn 2. But he and Red Bull undercut the Mercedes to take the lead again. Red Bull pitted Verstappen again from the lead when he was defending from the Mercedes.

Max had 19 laps and 18 seconds to catch Lewis at the front of the race. The charging Red Bull on the penultimate lap of the race breezed past the Mercedes of Hamilton to take the lead. Verstappen with the win also extended his championship lead to 12 points from Hamilton.

Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko also gave his insights on the comeback victory for his team at Paul Ricard.

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Marko praises Lewis Hamilton for his ‘clever’ driving at Paul Ricard

According to Motorsport-total.com, Marko recognized that the strategy by the Austrian team was risky. He also praised Max‘s championship rival Hamilton for his brilliant final stint on the hard tires.

“He’s clever,” said Marko on Hamilton, not defending too hard from Max. “You saw it at Bottas: He got on the dirty track and broke away completely. Perez was within striking distance,” he said. “Then the second place would have been gone too.” said the Red Bull advisor.

Marko also praised Hamilton for his stint on the hard tires. “But that’s where the incredible sophistication and skill of Hamilton comes into play,” says the Austrian. “He then put in two laps just before the end. They were unbelievable with these old tires.

They were identical to Max. We only won a tenth. But then the tires collapsed.” said Marko. (Quotes translated from German using Google)

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Can Hamilton make it back-to-back Styrian GP wins?

Hamilton won the last Styrian Grand Prix in July last year. He led from the pole and won the race comfortably, with no challenge. But this year, the 7-time world champion is coming to Austria on the back foot.

Lewis has not won the race since Spain and has been outclassed by the Austrian team for the past three races. But Hamilton is cautious in approaching the Styrian Grand Prix and called the home team as favorites.

What do you think? Can Hamilton win in Austria? Comment below to let us know.