Lewis Hamilton crashed into Sergio Perez at the Belgium Sprint. That’s the sort of thing that we expect to happen between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen given the history that they have. With the Main race tomorrow and Max Verstappen starting behind Hamilton, the Red Bull taskmaster sparks hostility between the two as he slaps Lewis Hamilton with the ugly history. What did the taskmaster say?
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton’s rivalry is all that everyone wants to see. Ever since the tragic loss at Abu Dhabi for Lewis Hamilton, fans have been dying to see a title fight between the two. However, the Red Bulls are dominating whereas Mercedes are fighting behind to find a spot on the podium. The Hungarian GP promised a fight with Hamilton starting on pole but Verstappen led into Turn 1 and ran away.
Verstappen won the Sprint race in Spa with a 6+ second margin. Despite such dominance, Helmut Marko suggests that Max Verstappen needs to be wary of Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen qualified on pole but will be starting the Belgium GP in P6 as a result of a 5-place grid penalty for a gearbox change. While setting the main goal for Verstappen, Helmut Marko slapped Hamiton’s ugly history with Verstappen into the Briton’s face.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
According to F1Maximaal.com, Helmut Marko told Servus TV, “Lewis Hamilton was very fast, and I’m counting on this to be the case again tomorrow. You know those two aren’t the best friends. The main goal is to overtake Hamilton. After that, I think everything is possible. ” [translated via Google]
With everyone waiting for the showdown between Hamilton and Max, Helmut Marko unknowingly has sparked hostility between the two. While Verstappen’s pace was evident in the sprint race, it wasn’t an easy race win for the Dutchman
Max Verstappen’s Sprint race Win in treacherous conditions
Max Verstappen won the sprint qualifying with a 6+ second gap to Oscar Piastri in P2. However, it wasn’t as simple as it might look. After a wet start under the safety car, Verstappen decided to stay out on a track suited for intermediates to skip the Pitlane queue. Verstappen emerged in P2 and then overtook Piastri right after the safety car caused by Fernando Alonso’s crash ended.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Pierre Gasly and Max Verstappen on how bad visibility is with these cars in wet conditions:
Gasly: "I couldn't see anything at the restart, in P6, and I didn't feel really safe. Glad everything turned out well."
Verstappen: "Sometimes I didn't even see the safety car."… pic.twitter.com/Mwxyvsb2fJ
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) July 29, 2023
From then onwards Max led the race comfortably and won. The conditions were still tricky. Max suggested that during the laps behind the safety car, he wasn’t able to see the safety car ahead of him. According to Rbr_daily’s tweet, Max Verstappen said “: “Sometimes I didn’t even see the safety car.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
What do you think about the main race? Will Lewis Hamilton be able to keep Max Verstappen behind him?
WATCH THIS STORY | Bromance moments between Max Verstappen & Lewis Hamilton