The battle for the Formula 1 World Championship in 2021 is heating up rapidly. So far, the pendulum has been constantly swinging between Red Bull and Mercedes. After the Mexican GP, many believed the bulls had an advantage. However, the victory of Valtteri Bottas in the sprint race in Brazil and Lewis Hamilton with a mega comeback have shifted the momentum. Because of this, former McLaren Champion Mika Häkkinen has a warning for Verstappen.
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Formula 1 F1 – Brazilian Grand Prix – Jose Carlos Pace Circuit, Sao Paulo, Brazil – November 14th 2021 Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes celebrates with a trophy while winning the pool race over REUTERS / Lars Baron. celebrates
In his opinion, it’s exciting to see how the battle between the two teams shifts after each weekend. Obviously the W12 and RB16B have their strengths and weaknesses and sometimes the circuit characteristics can make a difference. This was evident in Brazil as Verstappen’s Red Bull was quick in midfield. Meanwhile, the Mercedes had an advantage in the faster sections of the route, and Hamilton’s ICE switch would have helped.
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Mika Häkkinen has some advice for Max Verstappen regarding Lewis Hamilton
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Unfortunately for Red Bull, when Hamilton fell back to the end of the grid, that only heated him up. To be more precise, it motivated him even more to catapult the rank to 5th place. Having started the race from 10th place, there was no stopping him either. Häkkinen said, “As a driver, you know the best path to success is to turn your energy into speed. There’s no point in getting emotional and overdoing it. It’s so much better to say, “Right, I’ll dig deeper” … I’m not sure if intimidating Lewis will work. He likes challenges. It gives him additional concentration! “
On the other side of the garage, Bottas did his job in sprint racing, acting as an obstacle for Verstappen. However, Hamilton was just great to look at. In this sprint race he showed how fast he was and what to expect on Sunday. Although Max Verstappen took the lead, the Red Bull was not up to the raw pace of Mercedes.
Sergio Perez did his part to piss off Hamilton. However, the fight between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen was always going to be fierce. The Dutchman’s questionable tactics were just proof that he was ready to go to the limit. According to Häkkinen, opening the steering wheel is one way to intimidate a rival, although the risk of collision is high.
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What do you think of Max’s tactics?
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