Max Verstappen supported Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes’ title fight with a change | F1 | Sports

Two-time Formula 1 World Champion Mika Hakkinen has suggested that Max Verstappen can win this year’s Drivers Championship by eliminating the mistakes that have proven to be the difference between the Red Bull man and Lewis Hamilton in recent weeks . The latter extended his lead at the top of the table to seven points by winning the Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday with a thoroughly impressive drive.

Hamilton was put on pole position by team-mate Valtteri Bottas in qualifying and slipped to third place with seven laps in Portimao. Verstappen crept ahead when the safety car was restarted.

On lap 20, however, the Mercedes star took the lead and was able to comfortably hold onto his second win of the season.

The result was a welcome reward for the Silver Arrows, which have been slower than Red Bull in terms of overall performance since pre-season testing.

Your hard work paid off in Portimao. Hamilton won and Bottas took third place and the fastest lap.

Verstappen crossed the finish line in second, but could have pushed for victory if he hadn’t been refused pole position because he had exceeded the track limits in qualifying.

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He made a similar mistake towards the end of the race on Sunday. He missed an extra point for the fastest lap after his time ran out and previously lost the lead in Bahrain after drifting too far to push past Hamilton.

Although the balance of power seems to be slipping back in favor of Mercedes ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix at the weekend, Hakkinen believes Verstappen can find his way back by striving for perfection at every opportunity until the end of the season.

“Red Bull and Honda did a fantastic job, but Mercedes quickly recovered from a less competitive start to the year,” wrote Hakkinen in his column for Unibet.

“One of Mercedes’ strengths is their responsiveness. While I think the Portimao circuit suited their cars a little better than the Red Bulls, Lewis and Valtteri really have an exceptionally strong technical team to support them.”

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“One area that Max was frustrated with was penalties at the track limit. He could have won in Bahrain and taken pole position and set the fastest lap in Portugal.”

“But every time he got all four wheels over the line at some point on the track. It’s so easy, but you can’t afford to make such small mistakes.

“To beat Lewis, Max has to do a perfect job every weekend.”

This year’s route restrictions regime was controversial, to say the least. Affected drivers and spectators pointed to inconsistencies in the FIA’s handling of a number of situations.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was clearly frustrated after Sunday’s race, claiming that tough decisions could have a significant impact on the picture of the drivers’ standings if Verstappen’s fight against Hamilton gets to the point.

“Track restrictions are a point of contention and the consistency of their application,” Horner told Sky Sports F1.

“This championship is going to be pushed to the limit and it’s still at an early stage. We saw Lewis howl a mistake [at Imola] but he got away with it.

“These things happen, but Max drives the wheels off the car and it’s super, super tight between them.”