'Verstappen will only perform better if the gap widens'

With three wins in a row Red Bull Racing are putting the pressure on Mercedes. According to Gerhard Berger there will be a 'duel of giants' between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

Max Verstappen has the lead in the Formula 1 championship and that is a new situation. In recent years it was mainly between the drivers of Mercedes, and it was usually Lewis Hamilton who pulled the longest straw. Now Verstappen is increasing the pressure, but Hamilton is not giving in.

''I am convinced that Hamilton can handle it. Still, like every other human being, he makes one or two mistakes in pressure situations. Only if I know the ambitious Doctor Wolff (team boss Toto Wolff received an honorary doctorate at the University of Cranfield), he will leave no stone unturned to find his way back to his old strength,'' Berger said in the Kronen Zeitung.

Still, Verstappen will also start to perform better and better as the gap in the championship widens. ''Right. The bigger the margin in points in the world championship, the looser he becomes. But that's the usual game anyway. For the fan, of course, this duel of giants is extremely interesting, a rock-hard match. And the season is still so long. A lot can still happen,'' the former Formula 1 driver concludes.