'Horner needs to sit down with Max, he's lost a huge number of points'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
The first half of the current Formula One season has undoubtedly been one of the most exciting in recent years. Both Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton were on top of the standings once. However, after the last race before the summer break, it is Lewis Hamilton who is leading by a small margin. With many races still to come, anything can happen.
Clean weekend
In the F1 Nation Podcast presenter Tom Clarkson does explain that he thinks Christian Horner should have a word with Verstappen: "If you're Christian Horner, you really need to sit down with Max Verstappen and say, 'Listen, we need a clean weekend'. Because he has been involved in first-lap crashes in the last two races. He's lost a huge number of points."
Clarkson, therefore, thinks Verstappen should be smart and also be able to accept a second-place behind Hamilton: "And second place at Spa behind Lewis Hamilton is actually a great result." This, however, Damon Hill disagrees with his colleague: "But it's not, is it Tom? Because it means the title is slipping away. He won't look at this weekend and think: I need to score points. He'll look at this weekend and say, 'I've got to win again, I've got to make sure Lewis doesn't win.' That's the only way he can be world champion this year. So the pressure is on."
Crushing race
But would Hamilton be content with second place behind Max? "You have to look at your situation as it is and then make that calculation. I can imagine Lewis thinking: it would be too risky. Passing Max now might be a bit too risky. So yes, he could go for second place if he absolutely has to. But we rightly expect it to be a smashing race between these two. From now until the end of the season."