Verstappen 'will force it and there will only be more mistakes'

The Formula 1 season is a battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, with the Brit in the lead. Hamilton has been at the top of his game for years and knows what it's like to win titles, while Verstappen is competing for the Formula 1 title for the first time. It's no surprise then that Max will make small mistakes, but Clarkson believes these should be ironed out.

Mistakes from Max

"Verstappen would have won if he had not exceeded the Track Limits in Bahrain and should have taken a point for the fastest lap in Portugal. Then he would be leading the World Championship by a mile, and it's those fine margins that are going to decide the championship," says the presenter in the Formula 1 Nation Podcast.

"I'm worried that the gap of eight points if Hamilton gets a bigger gap then Max might force it, which might see him making more errors. He has to stop making those tiny errors."

Pressure on Verstappen

It is still early in the season and an eight-point gap is always manageable. In Portugal, Mercedes simply seemed to have the best chances, and it was a good result for Verstappen to finish second. In addition, according to Formula One journalist, Lawrence Barretto, the Dutchman also needs to learn how things work in such a duel.

''Normally Verstappen would pick five races where he thinks he can win and he knuckles down to get those. Now he has to perform at the top of his game for a whole year. To do that, he needs to completely change his mindset. If Hamilton runs away with it then that will crack Max's confidence, but his maturity and change of mindset can push it further down the year before he overdrives the car," Barretto concludes.