The Secret Move That Made Max Verstappen “A Shark Waiting Behind” Lewis Hamilton At Dutch GP

The Mercedes W13 has come a long way from its porpoising issues and slow self from the start of the season. The Dutch GP was one of the many examples in recent race weeks of the massive improvement the team has made. With seven races to go, there’s a feeling Lewis Hamilton will get his first win of the season before the end.

Mercedes and Hamilton could’ve checked a race win from their list of agendas at the Dutch GP itself. However, that was far from the case with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen having a say in the proceedings.

The Red Bull man was behind Hamilton after the restart, following the safety car period on a set of soft tires compared to Hamilton’s mediums. It’s difficult to overtake a seven-time world champion in any condition. However, Verstappen made it look like snatching candy from a child’s hand.

Two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen gave an insight on Verstappen’s move on the Fast & Loose F1 podcast. After explaining the weaving during a safety car period, he said, “When you are doing this kind of weaving moment — and just when the driver behind starts doing that, you accelerate and you go.”

He then explains Verstappen’s strategy and says, “If you look, Max was keeping his car all the time straight. Just looking at Lewis when he’s going to accelerate.” To which Will Arnett, the voice actor of BoJack Horseman, added, “He looked like a shark waiting behind him.” and Hakkinen agreed.

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There’s still a massive difference between the race pace of the Mercedes W13 and Red Bull RB18. So after Hamilton accelerated, Verstappen went past him like he wasn’t even there. However, Mercedes could’ve avoided this situation.

Mercedes’ strategic calls made Lewis Hamilton a sitting duck against Max Verstappen

Everyone is pointing out the obvious from Hamilton’s perspective. Mercedes should not have allowed Russell to pit for soft tires and lose track position. The best shot at Hamilton winning the race was with Russell blocking the Dutchman for as long as he could.

Arnett said, “They had to know that leaving George between Lewis and Max was going to be the strategy that was going to get them on the top of the podium. The fact that they didn’t do that, in the moment felt very frustrating to me.”

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The frustration wasn’t limited to Will Arnett as we all heard Hamilton’s rant on his team radio. A rare error in strategy from Mercedes cost them a race win. However, there are still positives to take from the race for the team as we head towards the Italian GP.