Max Verstappen responds to his former trainer's intriguing revelation of mindgame played during title battle against Lewis Hamilton

Ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, Max Verstappen has addressed the claim that his touching Lewis Hamilton's rear wing after the qualifying session in the 2021 Brazilian GP weekend was a pre-planned move within the Red Bull garage. The Dutchman shared that he did not remember the exact details about the day, but asserted that the move wasn't a pre-organized one.

Verstappen's former trainer, Bradley Scanes, had shared on a podcast about how the Dutchman's decision to touch the rear wing of Hamilton's W12 was a deliberate one. This spooled up the paddock chatter ahead of the Dutchman's home race, who was confronted during the media day about such claims.

Though the Red Bull driver was unable to recall the event exactly, he denied playing any mind games that afternoon in Brazil, via PlanetF1:

"I can’t really recall that, to be honest. From my side, it didn’t feel like that. So, I can’t really say anything more about it because, for me, it didn’t feel like that or it didn’t happen that way."

However, Hamilton was later disqualified the day after his DRS slot gap was more than the permitted limit. Despite this, he made a recovery drive during the 2021 Brazilian GP weekend to claim a victory on Sunday and make a dent in Verstappen's points advantage.

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Max Verstappen fears a heart attack if he is ever made to relive Abu Dhabi 2021

Max Verstappen after winning the 2021 F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi and clinching his first world title - Source: Getty

Both Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton had competed tooth and nail for the drivers' title in 2021. However, only one driver could be deemed the champion, and the Red Bull driver came home to win his maiden drivers' championship.

Though the night in Abu Dhabi ended in the 27-year-old's favor, reminiscing about the title fight that went down to the wire was not a nice experience for the Dutchman, as he said, via RN365:

"I don’t want to experience that Sunday again, I’d rather not, because I would fear a heart attack for myself. The whole season was very intense with a showdown in the last lap of the last race.

"But that whole season was very intense, with two teams that went to the limit. And that is something you have to admire, and that is good for the sport. Two teams that made so few mistakes for a whole season, that was really beautiful and special."

Meanwhile, since the 2021 season, Max Verstappen has won three more titles and is the reigning champion on the F1 grid. In 2025, he has scored two race wins, four pole positions, and five podiums, and ranks third in the interim standings.