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Max Verstappen was pushed to the brink by Lewis Hamilton in Saudi Arabia, according to senior F1 writer Lawrence Barretto.
Max Verstappen was the hot topic in the pre-race warm-up for Barretto with fellow F1 reporter Will Buxton. With the championship battle balanced evenly going into the final race, both Verstappen and his rival Hamilton have the attention of the world on them.
Barretto believes that Verstappen is tired of talking to the media about his collision with Hamilton, which the FIA attributed to a brake-test by the Dutchman. He said:
"I think that he was pushed quite far and hadn't been pushed that far before. And probably reacted in a way that perhaps surprised himself. I think he has reined it back in a lot since he got here."
Hamilton, on the other hand, looks calm, confident and composed according to Barretto's observations. He feels the reigning world champion is dealing with the pressure of the moment better than Verstappen is, externally, and attributed this to the Briton's experience.
Barretto is not wrong. Hamilton has won the title seven times for a reason. The mental fortitude and resilience he has probably built up is something Verstappen should aspire to channel if he wants to land his maiden drivers' world championship.
Max Verstappen slams media for crash speculation with Lewis Hamilton
Max Verstappen was also irate with the media for pursuing a narrative about crashing in the final race he wasn't particularly fond of.
Speaking to the media ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Verstappen looked visibly irritated when asked if he had thought about crashing into Hamilton to seal the drivers' world championship for himself. He said:
“I think as a driver you don’t think about these things. You go to a weekend where you just want to do the best you can as a team and of course, you try to win the race. But naturally, the media starts to say these things, so I don’t really have a lot more to comment on that.”
One can understand the cause for speculation given that it has been a while since Ayrton Senna took Alain Prost into the wall in Suzuka or Michael Schumacher running into Damon Hill in Adelaide with the title on the line.
Max Verstappen does have nine wins to Lewis Hamilton's eight, so it could still be a possibility. It is a thought, however, that Verstappen is neither entertaining himself nor condoning from the media.
