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Damon Hill found the battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen to be spicy.
The 1996 F1 world champion was speaking on the F1 Nation podcast about the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, its spice, and the controversies.
Summarizing the battle between Hamilton and Verstappen, Hill said:
“I thought it had, I think it had a little bit of you know quite a lot of spice, a lot of controversy, a lot of very difficult decisions, and the race director would have been on the edge of his seat trying to think on his feet, and all the rest of those expressions.”
Explaining the complicated job of the race director amidst the eventful Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the British world champion felt Michael Masi had a hard task on his hands, making some controversial decisions over the Hamilton-Verstappen battle.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s battle on-track was a controversial decision for the racing director
With emotions running high throughout the intense race, Lewis Hamilton’s on-track battle with Max Verstappen witnessed some audacious racing moves pulled off by Verstappen on Hamilton.
According to Damon Hill, at some point, the racing director has to decide between what is allowed and what is not.
Hill empathized with Masi on reviewing the on-track battles between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, and said:
“Because decisions that can affect the world championship, nobody wants to be the guy that says, 'Ok, I'm now going to make a race decision that could mean that person will not become world champion’. They have got the policy of ‘let them race’ so he is trying to do the very best I think to let things go. But then there are times when it's beyond what he can let go.”
Although Verstappen was penalized not once but twice for track offenses at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, none of the penalties had significant consequences for the title or race outcome. Despite the 10 second penalty handed to him after the race, the Dutchman retained his second-place finish. His bold moves, however, have raked up controversy.
